IndiGo set to finalise $15bn deal with Airbus
22 Jun 2011
Mumbai: Indian budget carrier, IndiGo, may seal a deal with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the purchase of 180 A320neo and A320 standard aircraft in a massive deal valued at $15 billion (Rs67,500 crore) at list prices.
According to sources a formal announcement is likely to be made at the ongoing Paris Air Show.
The deal was announced in January but has yet to emerge from final negotiations between the manufacturer and the airline.
In January, the airline ordered 150 revamped A320neos as well as 30 standard A320s.
If settled the deal would have been the largest commercial jet order ever by number of aircraft. However, it may well be eclipsed by an even larger order by rival Asian budget carrier AirAsia, which is working on a 200-plane order, once again with Airbus.
So far Airbus has declined to comment.
IndiGo claims it is the fastest-growing budget carrier in the world. In the last fiscal, it claimed the No. 2 slot in domestic Indian market share at 17.6%.
According to IndiGo president, Aditya Ghosh, the 180 planes are an additional order and will supplement the 100 aircraft order placed at the time of the airline's inception. Ghosh justified the size of the order saying it was necessary keeping growth projections for Indian aviation in mind.
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