‘Boeing can fuel IndiGo’s aspirations’

“It is something we are obviously very interested in. If IndiGo needs wide-body aircraft, we have the best in business in terms of Boeing B787. It can provide a carrier like IndiGo to increase its aspirations beyond just the regional market," Darren Hulst, vice president, commercial marketing, Boeing, said in an interview.

IndiGo has been an all-Airbus narrow-body fleet so far, and has 39 turboprop aircraft from ATR, a joint venture of Airbus, and does not have any agreement with Boeing. However, the airline has got approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to wet-lease aircraft for up to one year. Subsequently, it took two Boeing 777 aircraft on wet lease from Turkish Airlines to operate on the Istanbul-India route. A wet lease involves leasing an aircraft, along with its crew.

“It is possible. But, I would say hopefully it shows what our aircraft were able to do in terms of product capability efficiency. Ultimately, we will see (what happens)," Hulst said when asked whether IndiGo is experimenting with Boeing 777 ahead of ordering new aircraft.

Mint exclusively reported in April that IndiGo was in talks with aircraft makers to buy up to 20 wide-body aircraft as it seeks to expand its international operations, citing three people familiar with the matter.

India’s aviation market is seeing growth in domestic and international segments. Moreover, long-haul international segment has significant potential, Hulst said.

“The international growth potential is huge...the ability to fly to North America non-stop, to increase market share in medium and long haul. There is volume of demand because of size of the domestic market...it is a huge opportunity for single aisle," he added.

Hulst said there is a possibility for long-haul all-economy wide-body plane operations but it can work for a flight ranging from five to eight hours as ultra long-haul flights have logistical issues and complexities in terms of differentiation of demand.

“All economy wide-body is a possibility. There is a lot of volume in markets like South East Asia and Europe. Those routes are closer to 5-8 hours... I think in those markets with high price sensitivity there could be a market where a dense wide-body, low- cost, long haul ops makes sense," he added.

In India, Boeing caters to Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet, Akasa Air and Air India Express. The aircraft maker’s latest deal with an Indian carrier was signed with Air India in February 2022 for 220 aircraft, including 190 narrow-body and 30 wide-body planes. It expects to deliver the first Boeing 737 from this order later this year.

The aerospace major remains bullish on Indian aviation as it is witnessing maturity in low-cost airlines and network carriers.

“Historically, Gulf carriers had probably disproportionate share of capacity (on international flights from India)....what we are seeing is that not only low-cost carriers but also network airlines have matured their network, and are able to compete more globally and not just in the domestic market," he added.

Global supply chain issues continue to affect Boeing and its delivery schedules for airlines, globally. While the company is taking steps to improve output capacity, it will take a couple of years to turnaround.

“Our near term focus is to stabilise supply chain and increase the production to pre-pandemic level. The goal is to achieve an output of 50 aircraft per month or the pre-pandemic levels in B737 MAX aircraft by 2025-2026," he said.

“We were producing 14 Boeing 787 per month pre-pandemic. It will take us a little bit longer than 2026 to achieve 14 per month but we should be back to double digit by then," Hulst added.