IndiGo’s new chief executive officer William ‘Willie’ Walsh has identified the induction of the Airbus A350 as the key milestone for the airline to expand overseas operations profitably over the next five years as it seeks to capture a larger share of international traffic and make India a global aviation hub.
“I think that will be the successful introduction into service of the Airbus A350, which will facilitate our ambition to expand our international operations in a profitable way,” Walsh told shareholders at the 23rd annual general meeting of InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo’s parent company, his first since taking charge on 3 August.
The strategy was outlined at the AGM on Thursday. Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta said India’s “massive long-haul” market remained underserved.
“Indian carriers must capture outbound wealth currently dominated by foreign carriers,” Mehta said.
IndiGo has firm orders for 60 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled from next year. The A350-900 aircraft can carry 300 to 350 passengers in a standard three-class seating configuration and has an average range of 8,500 nautical miles (15,700km).
With these planes, IndiGo can widen its overseas operations. It can fly non-stop from Delhi and Mumbai to destinations including those on North America’s east coast and Midwest; all major hubs in Europe; Australia and New Zealand, and Seoul and Tokyo. The airline currently operates flights to over 35 destinations in West Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and Africa.
IndiGo has not said which routes it will tap through the long-haul planes. A questionnaire sent to IndiGo on which routes it will fly was yet to be answered.
In an April BBC interview, when Walsh was director-general of the International Air Transport Association and named chief executive-designate of IndiGo, he said it was a “scandal” that India had only about 50 widebody aircraft, given the country’s size. The fleet, he said, “should be much bigger.”
Walsh also pointed to India’s reliance on Gulf hubs for North America traffic as an opportunity for more direct long-haul connectivity.
“We view the reaffirmation of IndiGo’s long-haul ambitions positively,” aviation analyst Jainam Shah of Equirus Securities said. “The A350 induction will be a significant milestone for the airline, marking its transition into a scaled widebody, long-haul operation.”
IndiGo currently has no widebody aircraft, although it has six of them on lease from Norse Atlantic Airways. Its own fleet consists of more than 400 narrowbody Airbus jets, including the A320neo family aircraft and A321XLRs, as well as ATRs. Rival Air India is the only carrier with widebody planes for long-haul flights, consisting of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Boeing 777s and Airbus A350-900s.
IndiGo expects international flights to reach about 40% of its overall capacity by FY30, from roughly 30% currently.
“We see a huge opportunity for India to develop in similar ways to some of the global hubs in the Middle East and in Europe, not just serving India but to serve the world over India,” Walsh said.
Shah of Equirus Securities said international capacity had risen from 15% of IndiGo’s total in FY22 to 32% in FY26.
“With A321XLRs enabling mid- to long-haul expansion, A350s supporting long-haul routes, and continued additions to the international network, we see sufficient capacity and network levers for IndiGo to reach the 40% target by FY30.”