IndiGo to import 28 A320s in '13, '14

Airline to add 16 180-seater aircraft to its existing fleet of 66 by end of this year, another 12 by December 2014

The country’s largest airline by passenger traffic IndiGo today said it has received permission from the government to import 28 A320 aircraft in 2013 and 2014.

The airline would add 16 180-seater aircraft to its existing fleet of 66 by the end of this year, and another 12 aircraft by December 2014. The deliveries are a part of the $6 billion order the company had placed with Airbus for 100 aircraft in 2005. "The additional aircraft will enable IndiGo to take its low fare and hassle-free service to more customers and enable stronger connectivity within India and abroad," the airline said in a statement.

Currently, IndiGo holds the largest domestic market share at 29.8% as of April 2013. The airline operates 422 flights connecting 33 destinations in the domestic market and five destinations globally.

Overall, the airline has plans to increase its fleet to 120 aircraft by 2016-17. With this, IndiGo expects to have a share of 45% of the total capacity of low-cost carriers (including Air Asia) in the country. While the airline has firmed up a blue print to fly out of 40 destinations the domestic markets by 2017, it plans to expand operations overseas by increasing the number of frequencies on international routes.

The low cost passenger carrier is currently in an expansion mode. Recently, it announced launch of seven new flights on its domestic network from May 30, including direct flights between Mumbai-Jammu, Chennai-Kochi, Mumbai-Srinagar, Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai-Thiruvananthapuram, Jammu-Srinagar and Mumbai-Kochi. The company has announced it will commence Mumbai-Muscat service with daily direct flights from June 15.

In the single largest deal in terms of the number of aircraft ordered, Indigo has additionally sought deliveries of 180 A320 neo and 30 A320 (standard version) between 2016-2025.