NEW DELHI: Nearly 30 aircraft of Indigo are grounded due to supply chain disruptions and the country’s biggest airline is evaluating measures such as re-induction and wet leasing of aircraft to minimise the economic impact.
At the end of September 2022, IndiGo had 279 aircraft in its fleet, a fall of 3 aircraft when compared with June 2022. “Globally, the aviation industry continues to face supply chain disruptions. While it is our immediate priority to deploy adequate capacity to serve our customers, we are actively engaged with our OEM (original equipment manufacturing) partners to work on mitigation measures that should ensure the continuity of our network and operations,” said a spokesperson at IndiGo.
The spokesperson added that some of the measures being evaluated to minimise the economic impact include slowing down redeliveries via lease extensions, exploring the reinduction of aircraft into the fleet, and evaluating the wet lease options within the regulatory guidelines.
A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline (the lessor) provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) to another airline, which pays by hours operated. Last month, IndiGo’s request for wet leasing Boeing planes from Turkish Airlines for up to two years was cancelled by the aviation regulator DGCA.
The regulator, however, allowed IndiGo to wet lease the planes for up to six months. On November 1, aviation consultancy firm CAPA said over 75 planes of Indian carriers, which accounts for nearly 10-12% of the Indian fleet, are currently grounded due to maintenance and engine-related issues. “These will have a significant impact on financials in the second half,” CAPA said in its India Mid-Year Outlook 2023.
Hit by higher fuel prices and foreign exchange losses, InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of India’s largest airline IndiGo, on Friday reported a surge in net loss for the second quarter of FY23 to nearly `1,600 crores. Grounding of aircraft also comes at a time when competition in the skies is expected to heat up as the Tata Group-run Air India has started to realign its airline business and has set an ambitious target to achieve a 30% share in the domestic as well as international (to and from India) market over the next five years.