India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, on June 1 announced signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to enlarge its wide-body aircraft order by converting 30 aircraft of its purchase rights for 70 aircraft into a firm order.
Last year in April 2024, IndiGo placed a firm order for 30 A350-900 aircraft, with purchase rights for an additional 70 aircraft. The original order’s deliveries are expected to start in 2027.
IndiGo's move to induct wide-body aircraft aligns with its ambitious global expansion strategy, including plans to launch long-haul flights.
With over 430 aircraft and a dominant 62 per cent share in India's domestic market, the airline aims to transform into a major international player.
Currently, the long-haul segment to and from India is largely controlled by foreign carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways. Among Indian airlines, only Tata Group's Air India operates such flights -- a gap IndiGo now seeks to fill.
“This strategic move will enable IndiGo to spread its wings further and expand its long-haul international network, connecting Indian metros to different parts of the world. With this, it will create more travel options for its customers to new international destinations and also enable more flights to the hubs of its partner airlines,” the airline said.
In March 2025, IndiGo began preparing for its long-haul operations with the introduction of six temporarily leased wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, deliveries of which will be concluded by 2026.
IndiGo’s Airbus A350-900 aircraft will be powered by Rolls Royce’s Trent XWB engine.
In June 2023, IndiGo had placed the largest-ever single aircraft order by any airline for 500 aircraft with Airbus.
With that, the outstanding orderbook of IndiGo stands at more than 900 aircraft which are yet to be delivered well into the next decade. With one new aircraft joining the fleet every week throughout FY26, IndiGo anticipates surpassing a fleet size of 600 aircraft by 2030.