India’s largest airline IndiGo on Monday, June 19, announced a massive order of 500 Airbus Neo family aircraft, to be delivered between the years 2030 and 2035. The deal, worth $50 billion at list prices, is the biggest single purchase agreement in aviation history.

Announced at the Paris Air Show 2023 on Monday, this is the largest order for planes so far, crossing Air India’s order of 470 aircraft placed in March.

“This 500 aircraft order is not only IndiGo’s largest order, but also the largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline with Airbus. The engine selection for this order will be done in due course and so will be the exact mix of A320 and A321 aircraft,” IndiGo said in a statement.

The no-frills airline said the engine selection for this order will be done in due course and so will be the exact mix of A320 and A321 aircraft.

“The evaluation of the offers was shared and discussed with IndiGo’s Board, and consequently endorsed,” said IndiGo, which accounts for around 60 per cent of India’s domestic aviation market share.

IndiGo also stated that with this additional firm order of 500 aircraft for 2030-2035, IndiGo’s order-book has almost 1.000 aircraft yet to be delivered well into the next decade. This IndiGo order-book comprises a mix of A320NEO, A321NEO and A321XLR aircraft.

Airbus in a statement said, “The latest agreement also takes the total number of Airbus aircraft on order by IndiGo to 1,330, establishing its position as the world’s biggest A320 Family customer.”

Currently, IndiGo operates over 300 aircraft and has previous orders totalling 480 aircraft which are yet to be delivered between today and the end of this decade.

Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said, “It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo’s new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. An orderbook 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.”

He added that this order strongly reaffirms IndiGo’s belief in the growth of India, in the A320 Family and in our strategic partnership with Airbus.

On the historic deal, Christian Scherer, chief commercial officer and head of international at Airbus, said, “This landmark order marks a new chapter in Airbus and IndiGo’s relationship that is democratising affordable air travel for millions of people in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.”

He also said it is also a resounding endorsement of the A320 Family’s best-in-class operating economics that have been powering IndiGo’s growth for almost two decades. “We cherish our long-standing relationship with IndiGo and are proud of our success together. We look forward to contributing to the growth of India’s air connectivity in its domestic network and into international markets through the expansion of this formidable partnership.”

The purchase agreement was signed on Monday, June 19, at the Paris Air Show 2023 in the presence of V Sumantran, chairman of the Board of IndiGo; Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo; Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus; and Christian Scherer, Airbus’ chief commercial officer and head of international.

“The fuel-efficient A320NEO Family aircraft will allow IndiGo to maintain its strong focus on lowering operating costs and delivering fuel efficiency with high standards of reliability. The young and fuelefficient fleet will help IndiGo realize its sustainability ambitions, building on the already realized CO2 reduction of 21 per cent between FY16 and FY23,” said IndiGo.

This new order will bring the strategic relationship between IndiGo and Airbus to an unprecedented depth and breadth. With this new order, since its inception in 2006, IndiGo has ordered a massive total of 1,330 aircraft with Airbus, it said.