India’s biggest budget airline, IndiGo, could be on the cusp of its first widebody order, with the Airbus A350 shaping up to be the most likely candidate for the carrier.
According to Bloomberg, which spoke to sources familiar with developments at the airline, IndiGo is still weighing up its options, but an order for 30 Airbus A350s seems to be the probable outcome.
The source told Bloomberg that nothing had yet been decided, although an announcement regarding a widebody order could be made within weeks.
While IndiGo does operate on international routes, its destination reach is generally limited to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
While the majority of IndiGo’s fleet is comprised of narrowbody aircraft, the carrier does operate two Turkish Airlines-owned widebody Boeing 777 jets to Istanbul.
However, with a fleet of 30 Airbus A350 at its disposal, IndiGo could compete with Air India on long-haul routes to destinations in the United States (US) and Europe.
In 2023, IndiGo placed the largest order in history with an agreement with Airbus for 500 aircraft, comprising of 125 A320neo and 375 A321neo aircraft. This was in addition to a previous order with Airbus for 480 planes.
In August 2023, there was similar speculation surrounding an IndiGo widebody order for 25 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner family aircraft.