An Airbus SE A321 aircraft, operated by IndiGo—India’s largest airline by revenue and part of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.— prepares to land at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Wednesday
India’s leading low-cost carrier, IndiGo, controlled by billionaire Rahul Bhatia, is ramping up its fleet expansion to meet surging domestic and international travel demand.
To fuel this growth, the airline has exercised an option to purchase an additional 30 Airbus A350 widebody aircraft, increasing its fleet of international planes, Bloomberg reported over the weekend. This comes after a prior order of 30 A350s last year and an upcoming delivery of six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners scheduled for next year.
IndiGo aims to grow its fleet by 50% to over 600 aircraft by 2030, according to a statement released late last week.
“Our focus is on comprehensive growth to deliver affordable, convenient, and punctual travel to our expanding domestic and international route network,” said Pieter Elbers, IndiGo’s CEO.
This year, IndiGo plans to launch services on 10 new international routes, expanding its network to over 50 destinations.
Next month, the airline will introduce direct flights from Mumbai to Manchester and Amsterdam. Additional planned routes include flights to Athens, and Southeast Asian cities such as Siem Reap, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi, along with Central Asian hubs Almaty and Tashkent.
To support its expanding fleet, IndiGo has also signed an agreement with Bangalore International Airport to develop a 12.5-hectare maintenance and repair facility.
This new facility will complement existing operations in Delhi and Bengaluru, enhancing aircraft availability, reducing costs, and enabling quicker turnaround times, the airline stated.
Billionaire Rahul Bhatia, with an estimated net worth of $8.5 billion, is among India’s wealthiest individuals. He co-founded IndiGo with fellow billionaire Rakesh Gangwal in 2006. Following a public dispute over airline management, Gangwal resigned from the board in 2022 and committed to selling his shares over five years.
Last month, Gangwal reportedly sold shares worth approximately $1.4 billion (115.6 billion rupees) in IndiGo.