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India's IndiGo airline has agreed to buy 500 passenger jets from Airbus, in a record-setting order that underscores surging demand for air travel fuelled by the country's economic growth.
- The deal was announced on the first day of the Paris Air Show
- IndiGo chief executive Peter Elbers says the order is "an enormous milestone"
- It surpasses an order of 470 aircraft by Air India from Airbus and Boeing
IndiGo, which is India's dominant carrier, is buying the narrow-body A320 aircraft in what the companies said was the single biggest purchase agreement in commercial aviation history.
Executives from both companies announced the deal on the opening day of the Paris Air Show, the world's largest event focusing on the aviation and space industry.
The companies did not disclose how much the order was worth, but it would likely amount to tens of billions of dollars.
IndiGo chief executive Pieter Elbers said the order was "an enormous milestone".
"No one has ever ordered an order of this magnitude. It speaks to the potential of Indian aviation and the ambitions which IndiGo is having," he said.
Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer said the purchase highlighted how the two companies were "democratising affordable air travel for millions of people in the world's fastest growing aviation market".
IndiGo's order surpasses another mammoth deal signed months earlier by Air India for 470 aircraft from both Airbus and US-based rival Boeing.
Indian airlines are racing to tap surging demand for travel from the nation's growing ranks of middle class consumers.
The A320 jets that IndiGo is buying are typically used on short-haul routes.
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said IndiGo's order was a sign of the "incredible growth for aviation" and an opportunity for Indian people to fly for the first time.
Airbus also notched up orders from Flynas — a budget Saudi Arabian carrier that is buying 30 A320neo jets — and Air Mauritius, which is buying three wide-body A350 aircraft for use on long-haul routes to Europe and South Asia.
Airbus likes to unveil major jet orders at the air show held every other year in its home country.
Airbus is one of France's — and Europe's — biggest companies, and its performance at the air show is seen as important to its public image in France.
AP