On Monday, the first day of the 2023 Paris Air Show, Airbus announced that it had been awarded the biggest single order ever for airliners. The firm order, for 500 A320-family single-aisle airliners, was placed by Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo. This order will take the number of Airbus aircraft acquired and ordered by the airline to 1 330.

“This landmark order marks a new chapter in Airbus and IndiGo’s relationship that is democratising affordable air travel for millions of people in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market,” affirmed Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international Christian Scherer. “It is also a resounding endorsement of the A320 family’s best-in-class operating economics that have been powering IndiGo’s growth for almost two decades. We cherish our long-standing relationship with IndiGo and are proud of our success together. We look forward to contributing to the growth of India’s air connectivity in its domestic network and into international markets through the expansion of this partnership.”

“It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo’s new historic order for 500 Airbus A320 family aircraft,” highlighted IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers. “An order book now of almost 1 000 aircraft well into the next decade, enables IndiGo to fulfil its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India; and, by doing so, being one of the leading airlines in the world. This order strongly reaffirms IndiGo’s belief in the growth of India, in the A320 family and in our strategic partnership with Airbus.”

IndiGo received its first A320neo airliner (neo standing for new engine option) in March 2016. Since then, its fleet has grown to 264 operational aircraft today, composed of 162 A320neos, 79 A321neos, 21 A320ceos (ceo standing for conventional engine option, meaning pre-neo generation aircraft) and two A321 freighters. In terms of its orders for Airbus types, the airline ordered 100 A320s in 2005; 180 A320s, including neo models, in 2011; 300 A320neo family aircraft in 2019, and now the latest, 500 aircraft, order.

Although by far the biggest order announced by Airbus on the first day of the Paris show, the IndiGo deal was not the only one the airframer announced. Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flynas placed an order for 30 A320neos, which took its total order book with the manufacturer to 120 A320neo family aircraft, including ten A321XLRs. Air Mauritius ordered three A350 widebody airliners, which will take its A350 fleet to seven aircraft (it also operates four Airbus A330s). On Tuesday, Australia’s Qantas finalised an order for nine A220 airliners, which will take its total order backlog for this type to 29, while Philippines Airlines finalised an order for nine A350-1000s.