Shares of InterGlobe Aviation, which operates India's biggest airline IndiGo, surged nearly 2% to hit fresh all-time high on Friday after the company placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft. The airline has purchase rights for an additional 70 Airbus A350 Family aircraft “for possible future needs under certain conditions”. With this order, IndiGo will become the third Indian airline to operate widebody aircrafts after Tata Group’s Air India and Vistara.
Cheering the news, IndiGo shares jumped as much as 1.7% to hit a fresh record high of ₹3,880.35 on the BSE, while the market capitalisation rose to ₹1.49 lakh crore. Early today, the aviation heavyweight opened higher at ₹3,855.95, up 1% against the previous closing price of ₹3,815.05.
IndiGo shares have witnessed a strong rally in the past one year, rising over 93% against its 52-week low of ₹2,007.05 touched on April 28, 2023. In the last six months, the aviation stock has surged 60%, while it rallied 30% in the calendar year 2024. The counter added 11% in a month and more than 5% in a week.
In a post-market release on Thursday, IndiGo said that it will introduce wide-body aircraft to its fleet and has placed an order for 30 Firm Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which will enable the airline to expand its network. The deliveries of the aircraft, powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine, are expected to start from 2027. As per the company, the exact configuration of the aircraft will be decided at a later stage.
Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, says, “For IndiGo, after successfully pioneering the Indian skies with an unprecedented journey, its fleet of 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft will allow IndiGo to embark on its next phase of becoming one of the leading global aviation players... This reaffirms IndiGo’s belief in, and commitment to, the growth of India, and in our strategic partnership with Airbus.”
Currently, IndiGo operates over 350 aircraft. Last year, in June 2023, IndiGo placed the largest ever single aircraft order by any airline for 500 aircraft with Airbus. With that, the outstanding orderbook of A320 Family aircraft stands at almost 1,000 aircraft which are yet to be delivered well into the next decade. This IndiGo order-book comprises a mix of A320NEO, A321NEO and A321XLR aircraft.
“This new order will bring the strategic relationship between IndiGo and Airbus to an unprecedented level in terms of depth, breadth, and size. For the relationship between IndiGo and Rolls Royce, this marks the beginning of a new, long and fruitful relationship,” the airline says in a release.
In calendar year 2023, IndiGo welcomed 100 million customers onboard its flights. It is amongst the fastest growing airlines in the world, and this order will allow it to strengthen its growth trajectory, the release notes.
With IndiGo’s current fleet, the almost 1000 A320 Family aircraft yet to be delivered, and the fresh order for wide-body aircraft, the airline is well positioned to expand and densify its network, Besides, it will also play its part to fulfill the Indian government’s mission to ensure that by 2030 India comes into her own on the world stage of aviation leadership by building cutting-edge infrastructure and developing the country into a global aviation hub, says the company.
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