IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) is targetting London Gatwick as its inaugural destination in the United Kingdom, internal company communications seen by The Financial Express have revealed.
The report said the low-cost carrier has begun advertising for crew placements in the London capital alongside Yangon (Myanmar), Istanbul (Turkey), and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). According to The Hindu newspaper, IndiGo has already been awarded slots at London Gatwick for use during the 2018/19 Winter Season.
Service to the United Kingdom would be operated by IndiGo's incoming fleet of A321neo(LR)s. However, while the reports have pointed to a possible November delivery of the jets, ch-aviation understands that they may now only begin arriving from March 2019 onwards.
Including the standard variant A321neo, IndiGo has a total of twenty-five of the type on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) the first of which are due to arrive towards year-end. The carrier plans to use the jets to extend its network to destinations in China, the Middle East, and South East Asia
"We have also secured traffic rights to fly to cities like Abu Dhabi International, Kuala Lumpur International, Kuwait, Malé, Jeddah International, and Hong Kong International," Interim CEO Rahul Bhatia said in a 1QFY18/19 earnings call in July. "We are evaluating all such opportunities to expand our network and provide many more choices to our customers."
Later this winter season, IndiGo will also inaugurate Vijayawada's first international flights with service to Singapore Changi. The 2x weekly return service will commence on October 2 using A320-200 equipment.
