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IndiGo's ENORMOUS aircraft order

IndiGo just announced they've placed an order of 300 jets with Airbus. Yes, you read that right, 300! Such orders are not very out of character as far as IndiGo is concerned. They have placed 3 such large orders in the past. One for 180 aircraft, another one for 250 and the latest one for 300! People might think this is mildly insane, but there's a method to their madness. These huge orders are availed at massive discounts by the airline. Also, IndiGo stands to make a ton of money by following the sale and leaseback model. In the SLB model, the airlines sells the aircraft that they have bought to a lessor, subsequently leasing the same planes from them. This boosts the balance sheet of the airline while reducing the debt on the books.

INFOGRAPHIC ABOUT THE SLB MODEL (COURTESY REED SMITH LLP)
All the 300 jets are from the A320 family, with the A320NEO, A321NEO and the much exalted A321XLR populating the massive order. While the A320NEO and the A321NEO are common by now, what is intriguing is the inclusion of the A321XLR. The XLR gives IndiGo unprecedented flexibility, allowing them to fly to places such as London and Tokyo from Delhi non stop. While just the thought of this seems horrifying, a prominent IndiGo pilot went far enough to suggest that the XLR might be equipped with a different hard product to their existing one (however, BangaloreFlyer cannot vouch for these claims). While IndiGo will start receiving their XLRs perhaps by 2025, only time will tell whether they will continue with their 'park bench style seat' or if they will make things more comfortable for their passengers.

6E's INFAMOUS SEATS
At the end of the day, a lot of the new planes will be used to replace existing ones and thus, their fleet numbers might not see a massive boost as envisaged by many. This order however ensures that IndiGo will have a relatively young fleet.

RENDERING OF A FUTURE INDIGO AIRCRAFT (COURTESY AIRBUS)
Even more intriguing in this order is the fact that IndiGo has said that they will decide on their NEO engines at a later date, which implies that they are waiting for PW to sort out the problems with the GTF, but that's a story for another day. For now, I wish IndiGo the best of luck and hope that they go from strength to strength over the next few years.

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