Page 21 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2014 Online Magazine

FEATURE INDIGO

IndiGo firmed up an historic
order for 150 A320neo and
30 A320s at the 2011 Paris
Air Show. FILE PIC:(From
left to right: Airbus Chief
Operating Officer, Customers,
John Leahy; Tom Enders,
President and CEO of Airbus;
and IndiGo’s President Aditya
Ghosh)

IndiGo’s potential for growth is huge, In addition IndiGo was the first Indian and other devices to cut fuel consumption.
Ghosh said, adding, “we have plans to add airline to order the A320neo family with The aircraft made its maiden flight in
more flights and enhance connectivity on a contract for 150 A320neo and 30 A320s September.
new routes.” placed in 2011.”We expect the delivery of The airline reportedly has also inked a deal
It is with this confidence and intention that these 180 aircraft to start from mid next recently to take 12 A320s from Singapore’s
IndiGo has agreed to acquire 250 A320neo year,” Ghosh said, adding “we hope to have Tiger Airways on lease.
family of aircraft at a list price of US$27.7 all 430 aircraft, including the180 ordered “Some of these new aircraft will go to
billion, making it largest single order in 2011 and the current order, delivered by replacement. It’s difficult to say how many
for Airbus by number of aircraft, since 2025-2026.” at the moment,” Ghosh said.
Indonesia’ s Lion Group signed a deal for “Our recent deals with Airbus --(signed The airline does not plan on leasing out any
234 A320 airplanes in March 2013. in 2011 for 180 eco-efficient Airbus A320 of its fleet to third parties and will stick to
IndiGo, the lone profit making airline in aircraft, of which 150 will be the neo variety flying narrow body aircraft in the domestic
the country, had previously placed orders and 30 will be standard A320s, and the Oct. market and selected international routes,
for 180 A320s and 100 A320ceos. 15 agreement to purchase 250 A320neo), he adds.
“This new order reaffirms IndiGo’s are the largest single-company orders for The A320neo “new engine option”
commitment to the long-term development large jets in commercial aviation history. incorporates many innovations, including
of affordable air transportation in India These deals also makes IndiGo a launch latest generation engines and large
and overseas. The additional aircraft will customer for the A320neo,” said Ghosh. Sharklet wing-tip devices, which Airbus
enable us to continue to bring our low Reducing costs and further improving the claims, together deliver 15 per cent in fuel
fares and courteous, hassle free service environmental performance were key to savings from day one and 20 per cent by
to more customers and markets and will IndiGo’s decision to acquire the A320neo 2020 which is equivalent to a reduction of
create more job opportunities and growth. aircraft. “We believe our fleet will set a 5,000 tons of CO2 per aircraft per year.
The IndiGo team is energized and excited benchmark and lead the way to a more “The IndiGo deal is a strong indicator of
to herald this new phase of our growth,” sustainable mode of flying,” he said. the long-term potential of the Indian civil
Ghosh said. The airline will start taking For IndiGo, which launched international aviation market, despite severe short-
delivery of the 250 aircraft from 2018. operations in 2011, the new aircraft will term challenges,” said Amber Dubey,
The all Airbus operator currently has a help in retiring older aircraft and keep the partner and India head of aerospace and
fleet of 84 A320-200 single-aisle Airbus average age of its fleet to around six years, defense at KPMG.
airplanes, after retiring 16 aircraft. helping to keep operating costs down. The record order for 250 aircraft has
IndiGo had placed an order for 100 A320 IndiGo currently flies to 31 cities in India also kindled speculations that InterGlobe
aircraft in 2005. Early November, IndiGo and five overseas, including Bangkok and Enterprises, the company that owns
took delivery of its 100th aircraft within Dubai. IndiGo, may have revived plans to launch
eight years of its commercial operations. Privately-owned IndiGo is the only Indian an initial public offering (IPO).
These 100 planes were scheduled to be carrier to have ordered the A320neo, a The size of the issue is expected to be
delivered by 2016. However, Indigo has new version of the Airbus’s popular single- US$400 million.
taken delivery two years in advance. aisle A320 jets that includes a new engine
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