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IndiGo creates ‘child free’ zone and Air India looks to boost A320 backlog
October 7th 2016
IndiGo Airlines this week made the headlines after becoming India’s first carrier to adopt a “quiet zone” policy for premium seats, a euphemistic way of banning all children under 12 from certain parts of the plane. Read More » The move has sparked intense criticism from families, who said the policy was “discriminatory”, while frequent flyers welcomed the decision.
IndiGo last month received the eighth of its 430 on-order A320neos. Airbus told Orient Aviation “the deliveries since the summer have been with new engine standards,” referring to teething issues with Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W) geared turbofan engines that required several software updates.
In the fiscal year to March 31, IndiGo plans to accept 24 neos. Its market share could increase from approximately 40% to as much as 50% next year, which will be more than the combined shares of Jet Airways (19.2%), Air India (14.6%), AirAsia India (2.2%) and Vistara (2.4%), according to the latest figures from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Air India also is gearing up for expansion with plans to add 40 A320s to its fleet in the next 24 months , as well as five turboprops by March. So far, it has signed long-term leases for 30 jets.
“Today we have 55 aircraft and connect 68 domestic destinations. Our nearest competition has 100 aircraft connecting just 38 destinations,” said Air India chairman, Ashwani Lohani. “With fleet expansion, we will have much more coverage and capacity. We will regain our market share.”
Air India will acquire six more B787-8s in the next two years and three extra B777-300ERs. Lohani said the carrier added four international routes to its network in the last twelve months and it would launch another six in 2017.
It intends to upgrade its Delhi-San Francisco B777-200LR route to six a week and has opened reservations for a three times weekly Delhi-Madrid B787 route, following an earlier announcement it would fly a three times a week service from Delhi to Vienna, also with Dreamliners. The Star Alliance member is evaluating potential expansion to Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam as well as South Africa, for direct flights.
Orient Aviation understands that Air India also is closely studying the viability of a Delhi-Washington route.
India’s second largest long-haul carrier, Jet Airways, this week said it could resume flights to North America after withdrawing from the market in March. It had cancelled plans to fly to New York and Chicago and had leased the majority of its B777-300ERs to its partner and financier, Etihad Airways. The Abu Dhabi airline used the planes to boost its U.S. network.
