The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given its nod to full-service carrier Vistara and no-frills IndiGo to operate new international flights from August. According to a senior official said, Vistara had sought the regulator's permission to launch its flight services to Bali in Indonesia from New Delhi while Vistara had proposed to launch air connectivity to Georgia's capital Tbilisi from New Delhi.
"IndiGo operations (on) Delhi-Tbilisi (route) with effect from August 7 and Vistara operations (on) Delhi-Bali (route) with effect from August 1, have been approved," he said. Vistara is in the process of merging with Air India, which is now owned by Tata Group. In February this year, IndiGo announced its plans to roll out its air services to Kenya and Indonesia.
IndiGo to buy 500 airbus planes
Meanwhile, IndiGo has placed an order for 500 narrow-body planes with Airbus. This is the largest-ever aircraft order placed by any airline with Airbus. Financial details of the order were not disclosed. Earlier this year, Tata Group-owned Air India had placed orders for 470 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing.
Currently, IndiGo operates more than 300 aircraft. It has previous orders totalling 480 aircraft, which are yet to be delivered. The company further said, "This will provide the airline 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 aircraft purchase agreement was signed between the airline and Airbus at the Paris Air Show 2023. This (order) will provide IndiGo a further steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035, the Gurugram-based airline said.
Air India placed order for 470 planes
In February, Tata Group-owned Air India placed a firm order for 470 planes with Airbus and Boeing. Out of them, 250 will be supplied by Airbus and 220 by Boeing, while there is also the option to buy another 370 planes from the two plane makers. The firm order includes 70 wide-body aircraft.
Earlier this month, Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube told PTI that the airline will place a "triple-digit order" for narrow-body planes. The airline, which started flying in August last year, has 19 aircraft and the 20th plane is to join the fleet in July.
1,100 aircraft to be delivered in coming years
At present, Indian airlines have placed orders for more than 1,100 aircraft that are to be delivered in the coming years. IndiGo is to take deliveries of around 500 planes, Go First is to receive 72 aircraft, Akasa Air is to get 56 planes and Vistara is to take 17 aircraft. Besides, SpiceJet has aircraft on order. All of them are narrow-body planes.
Together with the latest IndiGo order, domestic carriers now have more than 1,600 planes on order. Crisis-hit Go First remains grounded since May 3.Around 700 commercial aircraft are flying in India and the majority of them are narrow-body planes.
(With PTI inputs)
