What the Paris Air Show Meant For Indian Airlines With Akasa air, Air India and IndiGo placing humongous fleet expansion order at the Paris Air Show, Indian airlines have sent the previous records tumbling

As air travel peaks, India is expected to overtake China and the United States as the world's third-largest air passenger market in the next ten years, by 2030, said a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). India's airport capacity is expected to handle 1 billion trips annually by 2023.

India is poised to take-off, echoing the sentiment, the 2023 Paris Air Show, witnessed a humongous fleet expansion order from Indian airlines.

Akasa Air

India's newest airline announced an order for four additional Boeing 737-8 jets at the Paris Air Show, a follow-up to the already placed order of 72 aircraft taking it to a total of 76 aircraft which include 23 737-8s and 53 high-capacity 737-8-200 aircraft. The airline is also on course to announce another significant three-digit aircraft order by the end of 2023.

As Akasa Air targets to commence international operations by the end of 2023, the additional order of four 737-8s will fortify the airline's plans to strengthen its expansion strategy.

"While we are extremely happy with this achievement, we want to keep ourselves focused on our commitment to contribute to the air transportation ecosystem and support the nation's economic growth engine. We are excited to add four more Boeing 737-8 to support our international expansion, taking our initial order of 72 aircraft to 76 to be delivered in the next four years. In addition to supporting our rapid domestic expansion, these airplanes allow us to take full advantage of the category leading 737-8 aircraft with its unparalleled range, as we prepare our foray into international routes," said Vinay Dube, founder and CEO, Akasa Air.

The brand-new fleets are equipped with the latest technology engines that reduce fuel use and CO2 emissions by an additional 14 per cent and incorporate the quiet engine technology to reduce the operational noise footprint of the airplane by up to 40 per cent.

IndiGo

IndiGo, India's largest airline with market share of almost 60 per cent, defining its long-term future, placed a firm order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. This will provide IndiGo a further steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035. This 500 aircraft order is not only IndiGo's largest order, but also the largest-ever single aircraft purchase by any airline with Airbus. The engine selection for this order will be done in due course and so will be the exact mix of A320 and A321 aircraft.

IndiGo operates over 300 aircraft and has previous orders totaling 480 aircraft which are yet to be delivered between today and the end of this decade. With this additional firm order of 500 aircraft for 2030-2035, IndiGo's order-book has almost 1.000 aircraft yet to be delivered well into the next decade. With this new order, since its inception in 2006, IndiGo has ordered a massive total of 1.330 aircraft with Airbus.

The fuel-efficient A320NEO Family aircraft will allow IndiGo to maintain its strong focus on lowering operating costs and delivering fuel efficiency with high standards of reliability. The young and fuel efficient fleet will help IndiGo realize its sustainability ambitions, building on the already realized CO2 reduction of 21 per cent between FY16 and FY23.

"It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo's new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. An orderbook now of almost 1.000 aircraft well into the next decade, enables IndiGo to fulfill its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India. At IndiGo, we take pride in being India's preferred airline for connectivity in and with India; and by doing so, being one of the leading airlines in the world. This order strongly reaffirms IndiGo's belief in the growth of India, in the A320 Family and in our strategic partnership with Airbus," said Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo.

Air India

Four months ago, Air India announced the purchase of 470 aircraft, split between Airbus and Boeing. When announced, the carrier signed agreements with the manufacturers stating its intent to acquire the aircraft but not purchase agreements that were signed at the Paris Air Show. The order includes both narrowbodies and widebodies from both manufacturers, with Airbus at the top, with 50 more aircraft than Boeing.

"Growing our network is an essential part of Air India's Vihaan.AI transformational journey and we remain committed to increasing connectivity and frequency of flights both domestically and internationally. These additional aircraft leases will support our near term growth even as we finalize plans to refresh and significantly grow our long-term fleet," Campbell Wilson, CEO, MD, Air India had earlier mentioned.

Even though manufacturers are struggling to meet output goals due to supply chain constraints, efforts by Indian airlines to keep pace with the world's fastest-growing aviation market, have set new industry records.