IndiGo, India's dominant carrier, is buying the narrow-body A320 aircraft in what the companies said was the single biggest purchase agreement in commercial aviation history.Executives from both companies announced the deal on the opening day of the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest event focusing on aviation and space industry. They didn't disclose how much the order was worth, but it would likely amount to tens of billions of dollars.
The purchase highlights how the two companies are “democratizing affordable air travel for millions of people in the world’s fastest growing aviation market,” Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said in a statement. Indian airlines are racing to tap surging demand for travel from the nation’s growing ranks of middle-class consumers. The A320 jets that IndiGo is buying are typically used on short-haul routes.