IndiGo can wet lease Turkish Boeing 777 planes for a yr as govt eases rule

Airline says aviation ministry has granted permission to all Indian carriers to wet lease aircraft for a period of six months, extendable by another six months

With the civil aviation ministry relaxing norms, IndiGo can now wet-lease Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines for a year. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation had earlier denied IndiGo’s request to wet-lease aircraft for two years.

According to the earlier rule, an Indian carrier could induct an aircraft on a wet lease for three months, subject to a one-time extension of additional three months. Such leases are permitted in emergency situations only. These include unexpected grounding of planes, and unscheduled maintenance, among others.

 In a wet lease, the lessor provides pilots, takes care of maintenance, and insurance of the aircraft for the duration of the lease.

IndiGo, which planned to wet-lease three Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from Turkish Airlines, had requested the civil aviation ministry to allow for a two-year lease instead of six months. The government has partially accepted this demand.

IndiGo would be able to fly two wet-leased planes according to its network, but wet leasing of additional planes would be permitted only if the airline operates direct flights to Europe or the US.

In a statement on Saturday, IndiGo said it had received a communication conveying the civil aviation ministry’s approval to allow Indian carriers to wet-lease aircraft for 6 months, extendable by another 6 months. Such relaxation shall be available to all Indian carriers on their specific request, and the ministry will consider the same based on the international destinations that the airline intends to operate.

“IndiGo is currently working on finalising the contract for the wet lease,” the statement said.

“Our carrier will be able to carry more traffic to Turkey. That’s the benefit of wet lease,” a ministry official said.

Last month, IndiGo announced flights on the Mumbai-Istanbul route from January 1. These would be in addition to the New Delhi-Istanbul flights, which it operates with Airbus A320/321Neo type aircraft. These Airbus aircraft have lower payload and range than the Boeing 777 aircraft. As such, in the past, the airline has had to offload baggage or take a technical halt on the Istanbul route because of prevailing wind conditions.

With the wet lease of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, seat capacity between India and Turkey will nearly double. It will also benefit Turkish Airlines as its growth in India is restricted under the existing bilateral air service agreement. IndiGo and Turkish Airlines have a codeshare partnership (marketing arrangement that allows airlines to sell seats on each others’ flights) since 2018. Last week, IndiGo announced code share on 19 Turkish Airlines-operated flights to Portugal and Switzerland.

“We have witnessed a huge demand for travel from India to Turkey, Switzerland, and Portugal. Keeping customer demand in mind, we now offer 19 connecting flights through Istanbul to destinations like Geneva, Lisbon, Porto, and Basel. This will not only enhance international connectivity, but also add capacity on these routes and make travel more affordable," said Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales, IndiGo.