- Partnership with Delta Airlines, Expands network with Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic.
- Orders 30 more Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft.
- IndiGo anticipates surpassing a fleet size of 600 aircraft by 2030.
Low-cost carrier and India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is in a mission mode of expansion, having signed multiple agreements with major foreign airlines, besides placing an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft, adding to its ever-growing numbers.
On the sidelines of the 81st annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), IndiGo entered into an agreement with US-based Delta AirLines while expanding its partnership with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic in its bid to strengthen its long-haul services to North America, Europe and the United Kingdom.
Fleet Expansion
In sync with its global expansion programme, IndiGo continued its plane buying spree, placing on June 1, 2025, an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft to connect international destinations far and wide. The order, said to be worth around $5 billion in list prices, is in addition to IndiGo’s order of 30 A350-900 placed in April 2024, a milestone for the airline as it was placing for the first time such a huge order for widebody planes, making its intent clear. IndiGo had also indicated that it would have the option of 70 more planes, and the 30 new orders come from that option. The MoU was signed by the CEO of IndiGo Pieter Elbers and Benoit de Saint-Exupéry, Executive Vice President Sales of the Commercial Aircraft business.
“IndiGo has 1,370 planes on order with us. This new order takes the total order book to 1,400. We are delighted to be part of assisting IndiGo to expand its long-haul travel around the world using these A350s and A321XLR. We are happy to support IndiGo during the next 2-3 decades of its expansion,” Benoit said.
Partnership with Foreign Airlines
Regarding the tie-ups with foreign airlines, Elbers said, “This announcement not only expands our relationship with Air France–KLM and Virgin Atlantic but also marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we welcome Delta Airlines as a valued partner. We are particularly excited to start our long-haul expansion from this Summer and connect with our partners’ networks to provide greater access to Europe and North America.”
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, said that they look forward to restarting Delta’s direct service from the U.S. to India in the near future. Delta is planning nonstop flights between Atlanta and Delhi, subject to government approval.
Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM, said that India is a strategic market for Air France-KLM, where it has a strong and historic presence and soon to increase. KLM will be connecting Amsterdam-Hyderabad in September this year, while Air France-KLM will connect 24 destinations in India via IndiGo.
Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said, “In our 25th year of flying to India, we’re delighted to build on our Joint Venture with Delta and Air France-KLM and our successful codeshare with IndiGo by going further with this partnership. As IndiGo starts long haul operations, we’ll connect four of the world’s largest economies, enhancing the travel experience for our guests, from greater connectivity and optimized flight times to loyalty benefits.”
IndiGo will soon offer connections to Amsterdam, Manchester, and other key destinations in Europe and North America, while Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic will get access to over 30 destinations in India via IndiGo. The low-cost carrier has announced that in FY2026, it will add 10 new international destinations, and it is on course.
In the domestic market, IndiGo plans to add four more stations to its network, increasing it from 91 to 95 destinations to literally every corner of the nation.
Delivery Schedule
The delivery of the A350 ordered last year is expected to commence in 2027 and continue into the early 2030s, and the present order will go into the next decade. It must be mentioned here that IndiGo’s wet-lease arrangement of Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines is expected to conclude in the next three months, while it has gone in for wet-lease of six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from Norse Atlantic Airways to connect Amsterdam and Manchester next year.
However, it remains to be seen how the aerospace major Airbus will stick to the delivery schedules considering that the OEM is grappling with supply chain disruptions. As per reports, the disruptions are impacting the production of Airbus’s flagship A320 neo family. At the 2023 Paris Air Show, IndiGo had placed a record-breaking order in aviation history for 500 A320 neo planes to be delivered between 2030 and 2035.
IndiGo Remains Undeterred
IndiGo remains undeterred with the present disruptions, hoping that the OEM will sort it out at the earliest. The carrier expects to surpass a fleet size of 600 by 2030, one new aircraft joining the fleet every week throughout FY26.
“We are focused on our holistic growth to be able to offer affordable, convenient, on-time travel experience to our customers on a growing domestic and international route network. We also remain determined to maintain our cost leadership while continuously enhancing our operational efficiency and profitability, thereby ensuring strong returns on our shareholders’ trust, support and investment”, Elbers added. IndiGo continues to dominate the Indian skies, now making serious forays in the long-haul segment.
