IndiGo drops plan to buy planes, sticks to sale-and-leaseback model

The airline believes it will help to increase liquidity and earn extra income in a volatile fare environment

India’s largest airline IndiGo has dropped the plan to outright purchase aircraft, and will continue with the sale-and-leaseback model, in a bid to conserve cash for the near future.

This is part of the plan to negotiate the volatile environment for the industry, when airlines cannot spike ticket prices even as they face the twin challenges of costly fuel and fluctuating exchanging rates.

“This (model) makes more sense in the current business environment. When the cost environment improves, we will re-evaluate the strategy,” said a source.

Last year, changing its strategy, IndiGo had said it would own aircraft rather than