Airbus has secured its biggest single order of airplanes after finalising a deal with India’s largest airline IndiGo.
Airbus will sell 250 of its A320neo aircraft to IndiGo in a deal worth US$26.5bn for the European-based aerospace company.
The deal is the largest number of aircraft bought in a single order for Airbus, and is the second largest order by value for the company.
The latest deal is a continuation of a decade-long relationship between the two companies.
IndiGo placed an order in 2005 for 100 A320s which have now all been delivered, and in 2011 the airline became the first Indian operator to commit to the A320neo – which brought its total to 280 Airbus aircraft.
With this latest deal, IndiGo has now ordered 530 A320 Family aircraft as it looks to capitalise on India’s booming airline market.
For Airbus, the recent deal with IndiGo guarantees work for thousands of its staff at its UK plant in Broughton, North Wales, which produces the wings for all of the company’s passenger jets.
Airbus chief operating officer Customers, John Leahy said the deal was a vote of confidence by IndiGo in his company’s product.
“It fills us with great pride that IndiGo, India’s largest airline and one of the early launch customers for the A320neo, is coming back for more of our benchmark aircraft,” he said.
“This order confirms the A320 Family as the airliner of choice in the most dynamic aviation growth markets”
President of IndiGo, Aditya Ghosh said the deal with Airbus would help further the development of aircraft travel in India and abroad.
“This new order further reaffirms IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term development of affordable air transportation in India and overseas,” he said.
“The additional fuel efficient A320neo aircraft will enable us to continue to bring our low fares and courteous, hassle free service to more customers and markets and will create more job opportunities and growth, the IndiGo team is even more energised and excited than ever before to herald this new phase of our growth for many years to come.”
The A320neo features a ‘new engine option’ which incorporates many innovations; including latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together deliver 15% in fuel savings from day one and 20% by 2020 – equivalent to a reduction of 5,000 tonnes of Co2 per aircraft per annum.
The A320neo is a modified version of the company’s bestselling A320 workhorse airliner and seats around 190 passengers.
The A320 family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with more than 11,800 orders to date and over 6,600 aircraft delivered to 400 customers and operators worldwide.
With its recent deal with IndiGo, Airbus now has an order backlog of 4,100 aircraft.
