IndiGo orders 30 more Airbus A350-900 aircraft

Airbus has announced that IndiGo, which already had ordered 30 A350-900 aircraft, firmed up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to essentially double its order book.

On October 17, 2025, Airbus said that India’s low-cost carrier, which has recently expanded its long-haul offerings by utilizing Norse Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9s, firmed up an MoU for another 30 A350-900 aircraft.

According to Pieter Elbers, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IndiGo, today is a “special” day for the airline as it solidifies its commitment to expanding its international route network, offering even more choices for its passengers.

“The conversion of this MoU into a firm order for 30 additional A350-900s is a testament to our confidence in the future of Indian aviation and our strategic partnership with Airbus, further reinforced by the strong start of our long-haul operations.”

IndiGo announced the MoU on June 1, 2025, saying that it had converted 30 aircraft into firm – but confusingly, not yet firm – orders out of its purchase rights for 70 A350-900s, in a move that would define its “long-term plans of international expansion.”

Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, the Executive Vice President of Sales at Airbus Commercial Aircraft, thanked IndiGo for thrusting the European planemaker and the involved teams “who negotiated this agreement for 30 A350s.”

When IndiGo originally ordered the A350-900 in April 2024, it said that Airbus should deliver its first A350-900 in 2027. (It reiterated the 2027 delivery date with the latest order.)

Meanwhile, the purchase rights for the 70 widebodies could be used “at its discretion, for possible future needs under certain conditions." At the time, Elbers said that the twin-aisle jet would allow the airline to enter its next chapter and become “one of the leading global aviation players.”

For Airbus, this would be the fifth firm A350-900 order in 2025, with the manufacturer’s September 2025 orders and deliveries filing showing 22 orders for the type from EgyptAir and Iberia, as well as one unidentified customer and one private operator.

As of September 30, 2025, Airbus’ net orders number 514 aircraft, including 289 for the A321neo, including the A321XLR, and 90 for the A330-900.

IndiGo’s three routes that it flies with Norse’s 787-9s so far include flights from Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), Copenhagen Airport (CPH), and Manchester Airport (MAN).

Flights to these destinations began on July 1 (MAN), July 2 (AMS), and October 8 (CPH). Already on July 30, IndiGo announced that from September 20, it will fly from BOM to AMS six times per week, growing to daily from October 13, and to MAN, its frequencies would grow from thrice-weekly to four times per week, which has been the case since September 22, and will continue to be starting from November 17.

IndiGo welcomed its third Norse Atlantic 787-9 on October 7, according to planespotters.net. In addition to the trio of 787-9s, it also has two 777-300ERs, leased from Turkish Airlines. These jets, configured with seven business and 524 economy class seats, exclusively fly daily departures from Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and BOM to Istanbul Airport (IST).

Starting October 26, it will launch daily flights from BOM to London Heathrow Airport (LHR), and from November 15, IndiGo will begin flying from DEL to MAN four times per week, which was later upped to five times per week.

IndiGo has also closely aligned itself with three SkyTeam members: Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines, and Virgin Atlantic. During the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Delhi, India, on June 1, 2025, the quintet unveiled an MoU “to build an industry-leading partnership connecting India with Europe and North America, with ambitions to grow to a global scale.”

Once approved, IndiGo would place its 6E designator code on 30 of KLM’s routes from AMS within Europe, Delta Air Lines and KLM flights from AMS to the United States and Canada, and Virgin Atlantic flights from MAN to the US.