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India’s largest airline IndiGo on Thursday said it had placed a firm order for 30 A350-900 planes and with the option to buy 70 more, thus entering the wide-bodied aircraft segment. Till now, the airline has been operating with the single aisle aircraft A320 and A321. It has two wide-bodied Boeing 777 on lease from Turkish Airlines with a total fleet size of 350 aircraft.

The airline aims to double in size by 2030 with new domestic and international routes as well as destinations as the airline pursues soaring global ambitions to match India’s economic growth potential.

The A350-900 planes will be powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine and the exact configuration of these aircraft, whose delivery is expected to start from 2027, will be decided later. Currently, most of the IndiGo planes are powered by the Pratt & Whitney engines. The airline has been facing engine supply issues for the past few years. About 70 aircraft are presently grounded.

In a release, IndiGo said it is entering the “wide-body space with an order for 30 firm Airbus A350-900 aircraft”.
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers termed it as a “historic moment”.
The carrier has been the biggest share in Indian aviation market with almost 60%.

At present, Air India is the only Indian carrier operating A350. Among the domestic airlines, currently, Air India and Vistara have wide-body aircraft in their fleets while SpiceJet has leased some wide-body planes.

IndiGo’s latest order also comes at a time when efforts are on to make India a global aviation hub.
In June last year, IndiGo placed the largest-ever single aircraft order by any airline for 500 aircraft with Airbus.

With A350 planes, IndiGo said it will be able to connect to the world from various Indian metros.
“The mission capability of this aircraft (A350) coupled with the efficiency of the Trent XWB engine will offer IndiGo unprecedented optionality as it embarks on the next stage of its wonderful journey of addressing the rapidly evolving needs of the Indian customer and our nation,” the release said.

With wide-body planes, IndiGo will be directly competing with Air India on long and ultra-long haul routes.
About IndiGo’s order, Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus EVP Sales for Commercial Aircraft, said this is an exciting new chapter in its close partnership with the airline.
“With the A350 selection, IndiGo is now embarking on further opening the world to India. We will support the airline to take this pioneering and strategic step,” he said in a statement.
Rolls-Royce in a statement said IndiGo has agreed to place an order for 60 Trent XWB-84 engines.
“India is an important market for Rolls-Royce. The future promises to be exciting, with significant infrastructure developments and further growth expected in air travel,” Ewen McDonald, Chief Customer Officer of Rolls-Royce plc, said.

(With inputs from PTI)