Mumbai, April 11: IndiGo received the delivery of its 500th Airbus aircraft, becoming the first airline in the world to reach the milestone of direct deliveries from the European manufacturer. The airline still has around 900 aircraft in its orderbook to be delivered over the next decade.
Milestone delivery and industry context
The landmark aircraft, an Airbus A320neo, registered as VT-ION, joined India's largest airline's fleet without much noise earlier this month. The milestone comes at a critical time for Indian aviation, which is suffering from the headwinds of the West Asia crisis and the rising jet fuel prices, as well as IndiGo, which saw its worst operational crisis in December last year.
Global comparison and achievement
While large aircraft leasing companies like ILFC and NAS Aviation have historically managed higher volumes, IndiGo is the first commercial passenger airline to receive 500 units directly from Airbus.
The Indian airline has surpassed long-established global giants like Lufthansa, which has received 466 deliveries, and China Eastern, which has received 449 deliveries till date.
Strong orderbook and expansion plans
IndiGo also boasts a strong orderbook with commitment to 1,400 aircraft, with around 900 units yet to be delivered over the upcoming years. This order also includes around 60 next-generation A350-900 widebody aircraft, which have been delayed due to the global supply chain issue.
The widebody aircraft are very important for IndiGo as it is focused on expanding its long-haul operations. Notably, the airline also received India's first two A321XLR medium-haul aircraft.
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Boeing comparison
US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing, on the other hand, has far more deliveries on its records. American carriers like United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have received more than 1,000 deliveries so far.
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