IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) is mulling broadening its international horizons and operating flights to the UK using the A321-200NY(XLR). The Indian low-cost carrier is due to take the first of the planes in mid-2024. With a range of 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 kilometers), the jet offers IndiGo the chance to significantly expand its international network.
“The XLR is a couple of years down the road. We are working out what is happening with the network. But it is too early to say,” AirInsight reports an IndiGo official saying. Asked about longstanding plans for London Heathrow flights, the official said it was too far out to give a firm answer, adding the airline would need to make a decision about one year out in order to apply for slots there.
IndiGo has a 50% plus domestic market share. However, its international network is now limited to Asia (as far east as Guangzhou, Hanoi Noi Bai International, Ho Chi Minh City, and Singapore Changi), the Gulf region, and as far west as Istanbul Airport. During a recent earnings call, CEO Rono Dutta also mentioned IATAT!LV, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, and even Milan Malpensa as other potential destinations currently on IndiGo's radar.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, IndiGo has a fleet of 273 aircraft including twenty-eight A320-200s, one hundred and forty-five A320-200Ns, sixty-five A321-200NXs, and thirty-five ATR72-600s. The airline also has a further 518 narrowbody jets on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) across the A320neo and A321neo families including sixty-nine A321neo(XLR)s and 252 A321neo.
Meanwhile, as an interim step before potentially launching its own flights to the UK, IndiGo announced a new codeshare agreement with Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) last week that will see carrier funnel passengers on and off Virgin Atlantic's multiple daily flights into India (2x daily to Delhi International and daily to Mumbai International).
