New Delhi: IndiGo will soon lease Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft to cover the shortfall in its international operations, officials said. The company has only been operating narrow-body Airbus planes, ATRs and freighters.
The airline said the wet-leasing of "certain aircraft" will be done as an interim measure, news agency PTI repoted.
IndiGo currently has over 275 planes and operates more than 1,600 flights daily. The airline will induct up to four Boeing 777 aircraft on a wet-lease basis. Boeing 777-200 LRs and Boeing 777-300 ERs will be deployed especially on international routes, during the winter schedule, airline officials were reported as saying on Wednesday.
The airline has been exploring several solutions to enable it to continue operations smoothly and to provide customers with efficient and affordable travel, especially as the aviation industry continues to experience significant supply chain disruptions globally.
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"We have received an in-principle approval from the regulators for the same and the induction of these aircraft remains subject to further requisite regulatory approvals. We are committed to exploring every opportunity possible to overcome these capacity challenges and provide our customers with efficient and affordable air travel," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
International air travel is steadily recovering after the pandemic and demand for air travel is continually rising as the festive season approaches.
As per PTI, a senior official of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday said the Indian market is very important and is already contributing massively to some parts of the world.
"I can see many airline companies are starting, resuming or expanding their network to India. Definitely, a key market (India) for the region and the rest of the world," IATA's Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific Philip Goh was quoted by PTI.
On Tuesday, IndiGo announced the launch of direct flights between Mumbai and Istanbul as part of expanding its overseas network.