IndiGo orders 250 A320Neo planes worth $26.55 billion

In a major expansion plan, IndiGo has placed an order of 250 Airbus A320Neo (new engine option) planes. This is the airliner’s biggest order by volume.

The deal, as per the reports, could be of worth $26.55 billion. The concrete deal value might be lesser than this, because of the high number of planes that have been ordered, as mentioned in an Economic Times report.

In its identical statement, the plane maker said, "With today's announcement, IndiGo has ordered 530 A320 Family aircraft with Airbus." The agreement was signed on Saturday though, but the delivery schedule has not been shared so far, neither by the manufacturer, nor by the airliner.

In terms of volume, IndiGo has been making headlines since long. It placed an order of 100 A320s in 2005 and an order of another 180 A320s was placed in 2011.

The MoU or provisional agreement to purchase 250 Airbuses was signed in October, 2014 for an IPO scheduled for later this year. In its recent pre-IPO prospectus, IndiGo clarified that the terms of the MoU had lapsed but the company was still in talks with Airbus for a significant order.

The order announcement is likely to boost investor interest in the airline, which is looking at a massive $4 billion valuation for itself at the bourses.

Airbus has 196 planes flying in India now, operated by Air India, Jet Aiways, AirAsia, Vistara and Go Air, apart from IndiGo. IndiGo's firm-up will give it a firm delivery backlog of 502 planes (430 from IndiGo and 72 A320neos from Go Air) and a decisive edge over rival Boeing in terms of overall volumes and in the narrow-bodied aircraft segment. The Seattle-based plane maker has 161 planes flying in India currently and a delivery visibility of 58 more (42 737 Max planes to SpiceJet, 6 787-8 Dream liners to Air India and 10 787-9 Dream liners to Jet). Jet has been said to have placed an order for at least 50 Boeing 737 Max planes but neither the airline nor Boeing have made any formal announcement.