IndiGo upped its order of widebody Airbus A350 aircraft on Sunday, and tied up with Air France-KLM, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic Airways as a part of its international expansion plan.
IndiGo had ordered 30 Airbus A350 aircraft last year, and these are due for delivery from 2027 onwards. On Sunday, the airline confirmed the order for another 30 planes, reinforcing its international growth plans.
IndiGo has already announced new services from Mumbai to Amsterdam and Manchester from July .These will be flown using wet leased Boeing 787 aircraft.
The tie-up with Delta and its European partners will offer IndiGo passengers connections to over 30 destinations in Europe and the US. While the partnership will enable IndiGo to drive up occupancy on its Amsterdam and Manchester flights, it will help Delta and its European partner airlines compete with Air India and Emirates, which have the highest market share on India-US and India -Europe routes.
“Combining our strengths with those of IndiGo, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic will enable us to offer unparalleled connectivity and convenience, ensuring that our customers enjoy the highest standards of service and reliability across the globe. We look forward to restarting Delta’s direct service from the U.S. to India in the near future,” said Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian.
While Bastian ruled out equity investment in IndiGo, he said the partnership creates a framework for collaboration in various areas, such as aircraft maintenance, sustainability, training and technology, among others.
The partnership comes at an opportune time for IndiGo, which has been working closely with Turkish Airlines to transport passengers to Europe and the US. For Delta, Air France-KLM, this also gives them an opportunity to regain some lost ground. Previously the airlines had close commercial tie-up with Jet Airways, which shut operations in 2019.
One-stop flights
Over 7 million passengers flew between India and the US in FY25, the vast majority of them taking one-stop flights via hubs. Along with Air India and West Asian airlines, Delta, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic also compete with their European rivals, including Lufthansa and British Airways.
Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith said the airline has been partnering with IndiGo on domestic routes since 2022, so the expanded partnership is a natural step. This also puts us in a much stronger position than our competitors, said Smith.
“ If you look at the size of Indian economy and it’s population sky is the limit,” remarked Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss.