IndiGo likely to firm up orders for more Airbus A350s: Executive
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Mumbai: IndiGo is expected to convert its purchase rights for 40 Airbus A350 family aircraft into a firm order, said a senior executive at the French plane maker.IndiGo, India's largest carrier, had in April last year placed a firm order for 30 A350-900 aircraft and secured an option for an additional 70 A350 aircraft. Of this, last month, it converted 30 into a firm order, increasing its total confirmed A350 order book to 60 planes."They actually will order more aircraft. More likely would, because they secured that right, because they believe they will need those aircraft. And so, the (Indian) market is such that it's easy to appreciate that there is a need for much more advanced aircraft," Benoit de Saint-Exupery, executive vice-president sales of the commercial aircraft business at Airbus, told ET.He did not say when IndiGo is expected to place the order.A spokesperson for IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation , did not respond to email queries. IndiGo's A350-900 planes, first ordered in 2024, will start arriving from mid-2027. The A350 is a long-range aircraft used by global airlines. It comes in two types - the A350-900 and the larger A350-1000. The aircraft can carry 300 to 410 passengers and can fly up to 18,000 km, or 15 to 18 hours nonstop.It is not yet clear whether IndiGo's future A350 orders will be for the A350-900 or the larger A350-1000. So far, Air India is the only homegrown carrier to order the A350-1000, which will feature a four-class layout including first class.In June 2023, IndiGo placed the largest ever single aircraft order by any airline for 500 aircraft with Airbus. With that, the airline's outstanding orderbook for A320 family aircraft reached nearly 1,000 aircraft which are slated for delivery by the next decade. It comprises a mix of A320NEO, A321NEO and A321XLR aircraft. IndiGo currently has orders for 1,400 aircraft, including the 30 A350s it ordered in June this year. Out of this, more than 455 planes have already been delivered to IndiGo.The A350-900 is listed at $308.1 million, while the A350-1000 is priced at $355.7 million, according to London-based aircraft broker AXON Aviation Group. Both Airbus and Boeing stopped publishing official aircraft prices in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Final aircraft prices vary for each airline and are usually negotiated privately. Airbus has orders for 1,391 A350 aircraft as of May 31 and has delivered 648 of the total, according to its website.Airbus also sees a role for its smaller A220 planes in India's regional routes, said Remi Maillard, president of Airbus India & South Asia.He said India's young population, strong economy, and strategic location between the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe makes it well-placed to drive aviation growth.Separately, Airbus, which is currently sourcing up to $1.4 billion worth of aerospace parts annually from India, aims to increase it by $600 million "well before the end of this decade," said Maillard.On sectors where Airbus sees potential to further grow its business in India, he said, "Defence, space, helicopters, commercial aviation, and the services related to all these... India is the fastest growing market, not only for commercial aviation, but for helicopters."
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