There’s no stopping this airline! Beware, Jet, Air Asia!

While most airlines are still figuring out the avenues to earn, move aside profit, IndiGo airlines has been quiet successful in creating history with its low-fare, short-haul strategy. Now, Indigo is planning to add 400 aircrafts to its existing fleet, and interestingly, it has received the government’s nod for the same. As reported by The Economic Times, this move by India’s largest carrier in terms of passengers flown may be a prelude to cross-border ventures.

Having entered the aviation market in 2006 with 100 Airbus A320s, this move of raising its fleet by 550 over a decade will be the biggest-ever fleet induction in the history of Indian aviation, reports the Economic Times.

"The current approval is to import 400 aircraft by 2025, which is over a ten-year period. They had applied for permission in December 2014 and have received in principle approvals for the same," a senior civil aviation ministry official told the ET.

The airlines having the maximum domestic market share in Indian sky is known for surprising with bulk orders. Adding 180 in 2011 and another order of 250 aircraft last year with an option of 100 more, IndiGo has already imported 12 of the 150 planes from 2010 order.

Confirming this, an Indigo spokesperson said that the approvals include 30 planes from the 2011 order and 250 planes ordered last year, with options to raise it to 350 if need arises.

Analysts feel that one of the reasons why Indigo is expanding its fleet size is because it is considering cross-border joint ventures. Kapil Kaul, India CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a Sydney-based aviation consultancy firm told ET, " IndiGo possibly has strong global plans, which could include cross-border joint ventures. I could see IndiGo brand in other international markets. Further consolidating and increasing scale reflects high level of confidence in their brand, business model and execution capability."

(Image : India Times)