Low-cost Indian airline IndiGo has ordered 500 Airbus narrowbody
aircraft. The order is the largest in the history of commercial
aviation, Airbus says.
"It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo's new
historic order for 500 Airbus A320 family aircraft," IndiGo CEO Pieter
Elbers said. The carrier, which is the largest in the Indian domestic
market, inked the deal on Monday at the Paris Air Show.
"An order book now of almost 1,000 aircraft well into the next
decade, enables IndiGo to fulfill its mission to continue to boost
economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India," Elbers added.
Indian aviation market's sharp growth
The enormous order speaks to the bullish expectations for growth in
the Indian aviation market. Airbus forecasts that Indian passenger
traffic will grow by 6.2% annually over the next two decades, well above
the global average of 3.9%. Indian airlines will need to take 2,210
aircraft during that time, according to the forecast.
India already has the third-largest domestic airline market in the
world, behind the U.S. and China, having recorded more than 120 million
domestic passengers last year. The IATA expects that number to rise
above 400 million by 2040.
IndiGo now has 1,330 Airbus planes on order and has become the world's biggest customer of A320-family aircraft.
Source: Travel Weekly