IndiGo to receive 3 A320neos in Mar

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IndiGo will receive three fuel-efficient Airbus A320neos in March and 24 aircraft totally in a year, giving the Gurgaon-based airline a cost advantage over its peers. The A320neo promises 15 per cent lower fuel burn from day one and 20 per cent fuel savings by 2020.

IndiGo has 430 aircraft of the type on order. Other airlines set to induct the aircraft are GoAir (72 planes), Air India (14 planes) and Vistara (seven planes). While GoAir expects to receive its A320neo by May-June, Air India and Vistara will induct it in 2017 and 2018, respectively. On Friday, IndiGo's first A320neo touched down at Delhi airport. It will induct 24 planes of the type by March 2017. The airline's president Aditya Ghosh told a television channel they expects 20 per cent revenue growth with the induction.

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• IndiGo says Airbus to deliver delayed A320neo jets from March
• IndiGo to get A320neos beginning this March
• IndiGo to receive Airbus A320neo from this month, to induct 24 planes till next March
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IndiGo's stock price closed two per cent higher at Rs 821.75, with investors welcoming early resolution of aircraft delivery problems. "The delivery of the first brand new A320neo reaffirms IndiGo's commitment to the long-term future of aviation in India. This marks the beginning of the next phase of our growth and will enable us to make air transportation far more accessible for the people of India," Ghosh said in a statement.

IndiGo has not announced when it will begin using the aircraft and the sectors on which it will fly it. Originally, the airline was expected to take delivery last December but it was delayed due to issues related to engines.

Qatar Airways, which was the launch customer for the aircraft, has so far refused to accept the planes until the issues related to engine were fixed. Both IndiGo and Qatar Airways have selected Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan engine.

According to media reports, the issue primarily pertains to engine start-up and it was felt this could impact schedules at busy airports and hence the airlines initially refused to accept the aircraft.

Airbus and Pratt & Whitney have been working to address the issue and have provided a software solution for the problem.

Earlier this month, Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier was quoted as saying that the plane maker would deliver "very reliable A320neo with Pratt & Whitney engines" by mid-2016.

IndiGo had blamed the delay on A320neo deliveries on "industrial reasons" without specifying the reason.