Latest news with #A350s
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
'Every commercial Airbus aircraft flying going forward will be partly made in India'
This is a representative image NEW DELHI: For Airbus, IndiGo and Air India are now among the top three airline customers globally with the maximum backlog or aircraft yet to be delivered, according to the aerospace major's EVP (sales, commercial aircraft) Benoît de Saint-Exupéry. It has to deliver 916 and 344 aircraft, the majority of which are narrow body, to IndiGo and AI, respectively, said an official. Malaysia-based AirAsia Group, which once used to run a JV airline in India with the Tatas, is in the second spot at 393 planes. In Delhi for the IATA AGM, Benoît had some good news for airlines who are getting increasingly frustrated with delivery delays (including from Boeing too) due to supply chain issues grappling the industry since 2020 that have affected everything in the aviation ecosystem from planes to engines to seats, components and spares. 'We are seeing the first signs of stability in supply chain. We are now back to the pre-Covid level of producing 60 A320 family of single aisle planes every month and hope to increase this number to 75 by 2027. We have the orders and are ramping up production to step on the delivery, and every commercial (Airbus) aircraft that's flying going forward will be partly made in India,' Benoît said. Asked if the order book for 1,750 planes from IndiGo and AI makes a case for India to get a final assembly line (FAL), Benoît said: 'We will have final assembly lines on the other products (one for H125 helicopters for its civil range and other for C295 military aircraft). On commercial aircraft side, we are looking at expanding our footprint with industry here in India. Sourcing from India has much value than a FAL for commercial aircraft and we are constantly increasing the same from here. Airbus sourcing from India was $500 millon in 2020. We crossed the $1 billion mark in 2023 and last year we were at $1.4 billion. We will reach $ 2 billion before the end of the decade.' Rémi Maillard, president of Airbus India and MD of south Asia region, said: 'India is not only a market for us. It has become a strategic resource and industrial base for Airbus. We are investing in the country. The $500-million that we were procuring from India in 2020 was mostly engineering and digital services. From 2023, it is actually more hardware, flying parts that digital services. Not only we are going at a very fast pace, but we are now manufacturing critical components of aircraft and helicopters in the country. ' India is now the biggest market for Airbus. 'We're very proud to count our two main customers in India — IndiGo and Air India — as part of the biggest backlog in Airbus,' Benoît, who signed the MoU with IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers for converting 30 A350s into a firm order at the IATA AGM, said. IndiGo, the biggest operator of the best-selling A320 family of planes, has ordered 1,400 Airbus aircraft — 1,340 A320 family and 60 wide body A350. Air India has 300 A320 family and 50 A350s on order. About delays in aircraft deliveries due to supply chain issues, Benoît said: 'When it comes to the stability of our setup, yes the industry is late. Now we are seeing the first signs of stability in the supply chain. But you, you never quite rest because, as we all know, the situation can change quite quickly nowadays. The objective is to bring back some resilience in the supply chain. The pandemic has taught us to be much more intrusive, If I may say so, into the supply chain to anticipate the issues and work with our suppliers to find solutions. ' Given the wait for new aircraft, both AI and IndiGo have decided to keep their older A320ceos for much longer than they had originally anticipated. 'There's a trend with airlines in general to keep the asset longer because because they need they need more (capacity),' Benoît said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
IndiGo doubles wide-body aircraft order
N Tired of too many ads? go ad free now EW DELHI: IndiGo doubled its wide body aircraft order by confirming the option for 30 wide body Airbus A350s. Now the airline has 60 A350s on firm order and has an option for 40 more. "We have signed the MoU with Airbus for confirming the option for 30 A350s. Their delivery starts in 2027," airline CEO Pieter Elbers said at the IATA AGM on Sunday. "Delivery of initial 30 A350s ordered last year will begin in 2027 and continue till early part of next decade. Delivery of this next batch (of 350) will start after that and continue into the second half of the next decade," Elbers said.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
IndiGo takes bigger leap, hedges Turkish Airlines partnership; signs MoU with Delta, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic
IndiGo, India's largest carrier by fleet and domestic market share, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France-KLM to build a partnership to connect traffic to Europe and North America. This comes amid the flak it recently received for its ties with Turkish Airlines and the subsequent approval by the DIrectorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for extension of damp lease of Turkish Airlines planes for only three months. Airline partnerships take months to materialise and years to build and it is unlikely that the recent flak led IndiGo to move in this direction. In fact, the airline has been a partner to Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic for the last few years and has been feeding their network out of India from multiple cities in India. The announcement came on a day when IndiGo signed an MoU with Airbus to convert 30 options for A350 to firm orders. The airline had placed an order for 30 A350s with options for 70 more in 2024. IndiGo has been in partnership with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic since 2022, allowing Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic passengers to access more than 30 points in India. With announcements to fly to Manchester and Amsterdam, along with plans to fly to London and Copenhagen in due course of time, the airline will offer 30 points within Europe on KLM via Amsterdam, to the United States and Canada from Amsterdam with Delta and KLM and flights to the United States from Manchester on Virgin Atlantic. This opens up new opportunities for passengers from India to fly to Europe and North America via European hubs and possibly mimics the Jet Airways partnership with KLM, when it had a scissor hub at Amsterdam. Delta Air Lines plans to resume services to India with non-stop flights between Atlanta and Delhi in future. This will pave the way for IndiGo to offer passengers more options. IndiGo will start inducting its own A350s starting 2027. The current MoU translating to partnership could lead to IndiGo having a larger presence in Europe with opportunities to transfer passengers at multiple hubs, akin to what Jet Airways used to do in its heyday. At its peak, Jet Airways operated to Amsterdam from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru with its own flights onwards to North America along with a partnership with KLM. IndiGo has been expanding one step at a time, starting with flights in India's vicinity, followed by longer destinations like Bali, Istanbul and Nairobi. This marks the third phase after which IndiGo may look at non-stops to North America. The new partnership will allow it to serve cities within Europe with non-stop flights and feed from Indian cities as well as South East Asia, and carrying passengers onwards to smaller cities in Europe and to North America. The MoU signed by these airlines creates a framework for deeper collaboration between the carriers which could include network, loyalty, cargo, sales and more on the engineering side, where Air France-KLM have a large presence and also operate the A350s. This could come in handy for IndiGo's A350 induction in 2027. Air India currently dominates the capacity (by Available Seat Kilometres) from India and leads the Star Alliance charge, supported by carriers like equity partner Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and others. Kingfisher Airlines was on the verge of joining OneWorld before it went down, while Jet Airways had strong partnerships with Skyteam but never formally joined the alliance. With the partnership in Europe, IndiGo will offer passengers connections beyond Europe and help make a mark in the connecting market, along with helping find strengths for the newly launched flights to Europe. For Delta, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, it supports the transatlantic service and helps with a larger feed from India. With this partnership in place, the question of IndIGo launching operations to Paris becomes when and not if. Slots are often cited as the challenges for airlines in India to expand at airports like Amsterdam or London Heathrow and in this case, the solution could well come from lending or leasing or outright purchase (incase of London Heathrow) from the codeshare parnters and be part of the larger deal which may extend across areas.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Embraer in talks with IndiGo, Air India for selling planes; sets up fully-owned unit in India
NEW DELHI: Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is in talks with IndiGo and Air India for selling planes, a company official told news agency PTI on Monday. To explore opportunities in the Indian market, Embraer has established a fully-owned subsidiary with its corporate office in New Delhi. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The company will set up a procurement team to explore opportunities in the Indian supply chain and consider sourcing components and services from India, Neto said in an exclusive interview with PTI in New Delhi. The organisation is currently recruiting staff in India across various departments including government relations, communications, procurement, engineering, sales and marketing. The present Indian operations include approximately 50 Embraer aircraft, encompassing 11 different models, distributed across commercial, business aviation and defence sectors. "India is the third largest market in aviation globally... we see a lot of opportunities for us in the future in this market for all the products we have, the different business units, commercial jets, business jets, military aircraft and eVTOLs. That's why we want to really to deepen our collaboration with the country and this step of opening a subsidiary in India," Neto said. Regarding private aviation, Neto indicated that regulatory adjustments would create additional opportunities. He is visiting New Delhi for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting. The trade relationship between India and Brazil shows significant growth potential, despite current modest levels. "We see a lot of opportunities", not only because of the long term relationship between the two countries, but also because both are part of the BRICS, Neto said. "We expect that the global south will increase the collaboration... Tired of too many ads? go ad free now increase the trade between the countries," he added. The biggest market for Embraer, which achieved record revenues in 2024, is the United States. Earlier on Sunday, IndiGo announced that it will place a firm order for 30 more wide-body Airbus A350-900 aircraft, as part of its long-term plan to expand international operations. This adds to the 30 A350s it ordered in April last year, with an option for 70 more. At a briefing in New Delhi, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers confirmed that the airline is now firming up 30 of those optional orders. IndiGo currently has over 900 aircraft on order for future delivery. Meanwhile, Air India, owned by the Tata Group, is in talks with Airbus and Boeing for another major aircraft deal. According to Reuters, the airline may acquire around 200 more narrow-body jets, in addition to its record 470-aircraft order placed in 2023.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
In bid to go global, IndiGo orders 30 more Airbus planes
Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Sunday said it has confirmed an order for 30 additional Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft, doubling its existing order to a total 60 A350s, along with options for 40 more. 'We have signed the MoU with Airbus for confirming the option for 30 A350s. Their delivery starts in 2027,' IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers at the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday said. Elbers said that the delivery of the original 30 aircraft, ordered last year, will begin in 2027 and continue into the early 2030s. The additional 30 confirmed aircraft will start arriving after the initial batch and will be delivered into the latter part of the next decade. IndiGo had originally placed the firm order for 30 Airbus A350s in May 2023, with an option for 70 more aircraft at the time. In recent years, the airline ventured into long-haul international operations using wet-leased Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines- a deal that is now set to conclude within the next three months. To continue offering long-haul services, IndiGo will soon start flying wet-leased Boeing 787s from Norse Atlantic Airways to destinations such as Manchester and Amsterdam. Wet lease is an arrangement that includes renting an aircraft along with a crew, maintenance, and insurance. To enhance connectivity beyond its own network, IndiGo is expanding strategic collaborations. The airline announced a new partnership with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, aiming to improve access between India, Europe, and North America. 'IndiGo has embarked on an ambitious journey to become a global airline by 2030. This partnership (with Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic) represents a milestone to pursue commercial synergies, operational excellence and innovation…. We are particularly excited to start our long-haul expansion from this summer and connect with our partners' networks to provide greater access to Europe and North America. This strategic partnership enables a combined customer proposition in the form of comprehensive intercontinental connectivity, seamless experience and great loyalty value,' the CEO said. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian added, 'This agreement is another example of our commitment to making travel more connected, more inclusive and more accessible. Combining our strengths with those of IndiGo, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, will enable us to offer unparalleled connectivity and convenience, ensuring that our customers enjoy the highest standards of service and reliability across the globe. We look forward to restarting Delta's direct service from the US to India in the near future.' Air France-KLM Group CEO Benjamin Smith echoed the enthusiasm and said 'We are very glad to extend our existing partnership with IndiGo and to do so alongside our partners Delta and Virgin Atlantic. India is a strategic market for Air France-KLM, where we have a strong and historic presence soon to increase. We look forward to welcoming IndiGo customers on our flights and to play an active role in the country's connectivity.' Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss commented: 'In our 25th year of flying to India, we're delighted to build on our Joint Venture with Delta and Air France-KLM, and our successful codeshare with IndiGo, by going further with this partnership. As IndiGo starts long haul operations, we'll connect four of the world's largest economies, enhancing the travel experience for our guests, from greater connectivity and optimised flight times to loyalty benefits.'
