IndiGo’s widebody ambitions have been in the news for a year. I went back to our first article on the IndiGo widebody assessment, which was written in April 2023, but even then, the assessment was ongoing for a year. Many people expected this deal to be done within 2023, but IndiGo is taking its time.
While their A320family model is a low-risk model (premium pops on buying the aircraft and putting it on a sale and leaseback), lower entry costs, driven even lower by bulk purchases (IndiGo has a shade less than 1,000 A320neo family aircraft on order backlog), and the wild bankability of these aircraft (even the secondary market is hot right now for old A320 aircraft on lease) make it an easy choice for IndiGo to order as many as they can. However, the widebody addition will be a whole new learning curve for IndiGo, and that is a step they don’t want to rush into.
IndiGo’s widebody ambitions
The first step into IndiGo’s widebody ambitions is the damp-leased aircraft from Turkish Airlines. The second step is getting their own wide bodies registered on the Indian Register of Aircraft. Back in 2023, IndiGo was assessing the Airbus A330neo and the Boeing 787, with the media suggesting that they leaned towards the 787. However, no order was signed at Paris Airshow 2023, Dubai Airshow 2023, or Wings India.
IndiGo A350-900 Render by Aeroconcepts (x.com/@aeroconcepts1)
Now, Bloomberg reported this morning, that IndiGo could buy the A350 to launch low-cost, long-haul flights. Per Bloomberg, IndiGo is considering up to 30 A350 aircraft, and a deal could be on its way in a few weeks. The report does not have insights on which variant; it most likely would be the -900 variant (since the -1000 would be too big to fill).
The A350 is an excellent aircraft, but so is the 787, and the exit of the A330neo from this race means that it does not match the ambitions of the airline. For the A350, this past year has been a great run, breaking into India with Air India (been a Boeing widebody customer for decades), and winning other sales campaigns, such as those with Korean and Japan Airlines (announced earlier this week). And with the rock-solid partnership between IndiGo and Airbus, finding some early slots for IndiGo should not be a problem for Airbus.
Bottomline
After assessing the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A330neo, IndiGo seems to have also assessed the A350 and is now leaning towards ordering up to 30 A350 aircraft. IndiGo will likely launch low-cost long-haul operations with these A350 aircraft.
What do you think of IndiGo’s tilt towards the A350 for their long-haul launch?
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A350 would be ideal for service to Australia. India is now the destination Australians want to travel to.
Huge Indian population in Melbourne particularly, as well as Sydney and Perth. Even Brisbane, Canberra, and Adelaide have good numbers. Daily flights to all these cities combined with a good service would be a success for Indigo
Is there enough India origin demand for wide body aircraft for IndiGo?
Put it another way, most Indian NRIs or the diaspora, outside the GCC, would most likely never travel long haul ultra low cost and thus IndiGo will never be in their thoughts.
Airbus is actually trying to give a better deal on the A350 over the A330 to IndiGo. And this has been happening for a few years. Had it been pure IndiGo decision, they would have gone for the A330 Neo.