IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) and Vistara (UK, Delhi International) may place separate orders for wide-body aircraft to support their respective medium- and long-haul expansion plans unless either of the two is successful in acquiring Air India (AI, Delhi International).
According to Bloomberg, Vistara is in talks with Boeing regarding the acquisition of up to fifty narrow-body jets and ten wide-body aircraft, with the final decision expected by June 2018.
Currently, neither of the airlines operates any wide-body aircraft. IndiGo deploys 154 A320 family jets and three ATR72-600 turboprops, while Vistara operates seventeen A320s.
Both airlines are interested in buying Air India, which the Indian government plans to divest from later this year. If either of them succeeds in acquiring the flag carrier, it will be able to use its existing wide-body fleet. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Air India currently operates four B747-400s, three B777-200(LR)s, fourteen B777-300(ER)s, and twenty-seven B787-8s.
"The other airline which does not get Air India will have to place an order for the big planes," the source said.
Both Indian carriers recently announced their plans to expand beyond the country. IndiGo Airlines, which already operates to Dubai International, Doha Hamad International, Muscat, Sharjah, Colombo International, Singapore Changi, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, and Kathmandu, applied for route authorities to London Gatwick, Manchester International, Birmingham, GB, Brussels National, Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, Zurich, Madrid Barajas, and points in France and Germany. Vistara, which currently only flies domestically in India, initially intends to serve Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, and Hong Kong International.
IndiGo did not detail its fleet plans, while a Vistara spokesperson told the Times of India that its current international ambitions are based on the capabilities of A320 aircraft. It did not comment on the reported Boeing talks.
