Summary
- IndiGo is reportedly adding 20 more aircraft to offset capability issues attributable to grounded planes.
- The airline is alleged to be negotiating leases with multiple corporations, including Qatar Airways and Ryanair.
- Despite having over 300 planes, IndiGo has 70 of them grounded on account of engine issues but hopes short-term leases will help.
With the summer season a little bit greater than a month away, India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, plans to make up for the capability shortfall resulting from its grounded Airbus A320 family of jets. While the airline has recently resorted to adding planes on short-term leases, reports suggest that it just isn’t done yet and that 20 additional aircraft could arrive by April.
20 aircraft more
Low-cost carrier IndiGo reportedly plans to lease 20 more aircraft to offset the capability crunch on account of its grounded planes. Based on Moneycontrol, the airline is negotiating deals to accumulate the planes as soon as April, when the summer season kicks in. The report quotes a source as saying,
Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock
Not too way back, Easy Flying reported that IndiGo could acquire a couple of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from Qatar Airways on wet lease, and now, Moneycontrol reports that it could also get three 737 MAXs from Ryanair as well.
Regarding the secondary market, IndiGo could acquire a couple of dozen A320s on wet lease for about six months. A senior executive from a significant leasing company said,
Capability crunch continues
While IndiGo continues to enjoy an enormous lead over other Indian carriers on account of its 300+ fleet, it still has to keep up its massive market share despite dozens of its Airbus narrowbodies being grounded on account of Pratt & Whitney engine issues.
In October 2023, IndiGo had around 40 planes out of service and parked at various airports; today, that number has gone as much as 70. While a lot of its aircraft are simply awaiting recent engines which were delayed on account of the disruption in the worldwide supply chain, some have been affected by recent issues with P&W engines.
Photo: BoeingMan777 | Shutterstock
In July 2023, RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, first disclosed the issues, saying
IndiGo is amongst many other carriers affected by this problem, given the recognition of the A320 jet, and hopefully, acquiring planes on short-term leases will help the airline maintain smooth operations.
![Spirit Airlines aircraft parked at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport FLL shutterstock_1769559506](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/spirit-airlines-aircraft-parked-at-fort-lauderdale-hollywood-international-airport-fll-shutterstock_1769559506.jpeg)
P&W Engine Issues May Stop Spirit Airlines Growing Capability In 2024
On average, Spirit Airlines could have 25 grounded Airbus A320neo family aircraft in 2024.
What are your views on this? Please leave a comment below.