AVIATION BUZZ

ANALYSING INDIGOS WIDE BODY ORDER -1

This is the third in a series of articles on Indigo and its future operations. PART- 1 can be found here and PART-2 is here.

Whilst we at Avialaz Consultants have said over the last year and more, on various social media, that IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) would go wide body, the question that entered our minds, was which wide body would they go for ? An Airbus Aircraft or a Boeing ? and the reasons for their choices.

Which type of aircraft would Indigo serve up to cater to their needs and their audience? Though as stated in our last article, my emotional favourite was the B777, it was never in consideration for Indigo. We know that in the end they decided to go with the A-350-900’s, however, there were other choices.

In this article, which was written two weeks before the final decision by Indigo, Tanmoy Ghosh analysed the Boeing 787 vs Airbus A330 NEO vs Airbus A350 for IndiGo’s long-haul plans. In the next article in this series, we will explain the importance of Indigos final selection of aircraft and what it means for Indian aviation.

The first aircraft up for analysis in this article would be the Boeing 787 mainly because current and erstwhile players like Scoot and Norwegian respectively have tried to use this particular aircraft for low-cost medium-long haul travel.

When it comes to the 787-8, the aircraft is capable of carrying 242 passengers in a 2-class configuration across a distance of 13,600 Km. However given IndiGo’s propensity to go for a denser cabin, we can expect this distance to go down by a significant bit due to load penalties. This would mean that direct flights to the Eastern coast of the USA would become a challenging affair for Indigo with a full load. ?Also, IndiGo going for a Boeing aircraft in light of recent happenings at Seattle and with the senate hearings, would be a surprising move.

The Airbus A330 NEO on the other hand while possessing enough range of 15000 km for the 330-800 while carrying 257 passengers, does not seem to have a strong case for itself for this order. The 330-900 Neo, on the other hand, seemed perfect for the Indigo network, given that it operated in a high density configuration, with a higher fuel efficiency than its Boeing rival. IndiGo is an airline that is very particular about having fuel-efficient aircraft. The Airbus A350 is an aircraft which boasts a solid range of 15000 plus km going upto even 17500 km, while carrying the most number of passengers while also being fuel efficient owing to the implementation of modern technologies. The carbon composite body of the A350 too adds to the efficiency factor of the aircraft making it a solid choice for IndiGo’s plans to disrupt the long haul market. However the 15% -18% higher list price cost factor became an inhibitor in our calculations.

However, given that Indigo was likely to make an “in your face” statement to most world and Indian Airlines, the Airbus 350-900 or Airbus 350-1000 served their interests. The sweetheart deal they got for the A359, made it difficult to refuse.

However, it is important to set the context. Low-cost carriers (LCCs) haven’t been able to crack open the long-haul travel market despite trying for a while now. Scoot has made somewhat of an effort, but they haven’t made inroads despite the support of a big group like Singapore International Airlines. What IndiGo does with their widebodies will be something interesting to track once they arrive - which, as per my observations, should be closer to 2027–28.

COUNTERPOINT : Contrary to Tanmay’s view, I have always held that Indigo will have to become a Hybrid carrier to grow its topline further, and transform itself to the next level. I have not had any doubt about the fact that Indigo will NOT remain a ULCC, but switch to a hybrid operational mode to become one of the worlds leading carriers in the next decade.

#aviation #Indigo #Airbus #boeing

This article was written by Tanmoy Ghosh for Avialaz Consultants and has been edited by Sanjay Lazar .

Avialaz Consultants an aviation consultancy and research organisation, founded by Sanjay Lazar, an author and Harvard Law Professional with 37 years’ experience in aviation, law, public speaking, and leadership coaching.

He is available at @lazar1 on Linked-In & @sjlazars on X (formerly Twitter)

His book ‘On Angels’ Wings — Beyond the Bombing of Air India 182' is a number 1 #Bestseller available on Amazon.in