IndiGo has announced a new long-haul route from Mumbai to Copenhagen, set to launch on October 8, 2025. The airline will operate thrice-weekly service with Boeing 787‑9 Dreamliners wet‑leased from Norse Atlantic Airways. Copenhagen becomes IndiGo’s 44th international destination (138th overall) and marks its debut in Scandinavia. CEO Pieter Elbers calls Copenhagen “a gateway to the Nordic region for Indian travellers,” underscoring IndiGo’s push into Northern Europe.
Passengers can book either Economy or the new IndiGoStretch (business) class; all seats come with complimentary hot meals, beverages, and approximately 300 hours of in-flight entertainment. The three weekly flights depart Mumbai early in the morning (04:35 am local time), arriving in Copenhagen at 10:05 am. The return flight departs at 12:30 pm and lands in Mumbai at 00:30+1 (all local times).
A New Chapter in IndiGo’s Long-Haul Expansion
IndiGo has rapidly stepped beyond its short-haul LCC origins by ordering wide-body and extra-long-range aircraft. In 2024, it ordered 30 Airbus A350‑900s (set to be delivered from 2027) and doubled the order earlier this year by confirming 30 options. IndiGo is the largest customer for the new A321XLR (~70 on order from 2026). However, instead of waiting until 2027, the carrier is already testing long-haul operations today.
Since early 2025, IndiGo has been wet‑leasing Boeing 787‑9s from Norse Atlantic to kick-start transcontinental flights. The first Dreamliner was flown from Delhi to Bangkok in March 2025 as a familiarisation flight. By July 2025, it was entering service to Manchester and Amsterdam. These interim wide-body leases allow IndiGo to build experience in Europe while “preparing for the arrival of [its] own widebodies”.
Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo, said:
With growing demand for travel between India and Northern Europe, we are delighted to connect Mumbai to Copenhagen, marking IndiGo’s entry into the Scandinavian region. This expansion strengthens our presence in Europe, offering Copenhagen as a gateway to the Nordic region for Indian travellers. With every new international destination – Copenhagen being our 44th – we are inching closer to our vision of being a trusted global airline, giving wings to the nation, and increasingly to the world.
Under the Norse arrangement, IndiGo receives the aircraft, with cockpit crew and technical support provided by Norse, while IndiGo’s own cabin crew operate onboard. This “wet/damp lease” model is essentially an accelerator for IndiGo’s long-haul network – it gains capacity and expertise now, without having purchased or flown its own wide-bodies yet. IndiGo’s rollout of Norse 787s is a “pivot from…flying long-haul in 2027 to flying long-haul in 2025.”
FlyNorse 787-9 aircraft bearing the IndiGo logo
The strategy also secures valuable airport slots early (e.g., London Heathrow). In daily operation, the leased Dreamliner offers a modern, fuel-efficient cabin, featuring large windows, higher humidity, and a lower cabin altitude for passenger comfort, along with state-of-the-art Rolls-Royce engines. In fact, Norse’s aircraft were initially fitted with a “Premium Economy” cabin; on IndiGo, they’ll be sold as “IndiGoStretch” (business class) seats. You can read about our first flight from Mumbai to Manchester here.
Cabin Classes, Amenities and Fares
Passengers on the Mumbai–Copenhagen route can choose between Economy and IndiGoStretch. The 787‑9 is configured with 56 IndiGoStretch seats (business class) up front and 282 Economy seats in the main cabin. The business cabin features a 2-3-2 layout with a generous 43-inch seat pitch, while Economy is configured in a 3-3-3 layout with approximately 31-inch pitch.
Norse had 10″ recline in Premium Economy – on IndiGo, Stretch seats offer similar comfort, though not lie-flat. In the economy class, meal service and in-flight entertainment are included. IndiGoStretch offers premium amenities, including lounge access at Mumbai and Copenhagen, priority check-in and boarding, additional checked baggage, and amenity kits.
|
Cabin |
Seats |
Layout (Across) |
Seat Pitch |
Key Amenities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
IndiGoStretch (Business) |
56 |
2‑3‑2 |
43″ |
Reclining seat, lounge access, priority check-in, complimentary alcoholic beverages, amenity kit |
|
Economy |
282 |
3‑3‑3 |
31″ |
Standard legroom, complimentary meal, beverages, IFE (movies, etc.) |
Domestic and Nordic Connectivity
Mumbai (BOM) is a significant hub for IndiGo’s domestic network. The airline operates over 2,200 daily flights to 90+ domestic destinations, allowing travellers from anywhere in India to connect to the new Copenhagen flight via Mumbai. In practice, connecting from, for example, Delhi or Bengaluru via Mumbai would be easy: IndiGo will publish timed connections on its website and app when booking opens.
On the European side, Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is a well‐connected Nordic gateway. SAS, which recently joined SkyTeam, is vigorously expanding CPH as a hub. The airline’s own press materials describe Copenhagen as a “global hub in Scandinavia”. SAS has added numerous routes and increased frequencies to key cities. In fact, SAS reports up to 125 daily departures from Oslo to over 60 destinations, as well as 70+ direct routes (resulting in approximately 120 daily departures) from Stockholm.
From Copenhagen, there are numerous flights to Oslo (OSL), Stockholm (ARN), Helsinki (HEL), and other Scandinavian cities, operated by carriers such as SAS and Finnair. Thus, passengers arriving from Mumbai can easily continue onward to Scandinavia. For example, the CPH–OSL flight is approximately 1.5 hours, and the CPH–ARN flight is also approximately 1.5 hours; both flights operate multiple times per day.
Likewise, CPH connects efficiently to Western Europe, allowing Copenhagen to serve as a convenient transfer point even beyond Scandinavia. (SAS’s hub push means one could go CPH→FRA/LHR as well .) In short, Mumbai–Copenhagen provides Indian travellers with a one-stop gateway to the Nordics.
Competitive Landscape
As of 2025, no other airline offers direct service between Mumbai and Scandinavia. Once launched, IndiGo will be the only carrier on the MUM–CPH sector. In the India–Nordics market more broadly, existing direct links are minimal: Air India operates a three–times–weekly service from Delhi to Copenhagen, and Finnair flies daily from Helsinki to Delhi. (Pre‑pandemic, Air India had served Stockholm–Delhi, but that route remains suspended.) Otherwise, travellers rely on one‑stop connections via Middle Eastern or European hubs. Major carriers, including Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Lufthansa, Air France–KLM, and Turkish Airlines, currently link India and Copenhagen through their hubs. For example, one might fly BOM–DXB–CPH on Emirates or DEL–FRA–CPH on Lufthansa.
In time, IndiGo’s entry may prompt responses. Air India could boost frequencies. SAS is also re-entering the Indian market (after a 17-year hiatus) with flights likely to commence by mid-2026, which may provide another Nordic link. For now, however, IndiGo’s Mumbai–Copenhagen route provides Indian travellers with a brand new, direct connection to the Nordics.
Bottomline
IndiGo has announced the launch of its new direct connection between Mumbai and Copenhagen, effective October 8, 2025. The connectivity will be offered three times a week, powered by the second Norse Atlantic aircraft that will join IndiGo’s Wet Lease fleet. The rest of the days, the aircraft will be used to enhance connectivity to Manchester and Amsterdam.
What do you make of IndiGo’s new announcement to add a third city (of Copenhagen) to its widebody network?
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