India’s largest airline, IndiGo has received the go-ahead from the aviation watchdog of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to wet lease two Boeing 777-300ERs from Turkish Airlines for a period of six months, with the option to extend for another six months.

The pilots and the crew will be from Turkish Airlines, however, there are talks that the cabin crew will be split between both airlines. IndiGo is utilizing the aircraft for flights to Istanbul from Mumbai and New Delhi.

It is important to note that the airline will continue to operate its New Delhi to Istanbul flights using its A320s and/or A321s. However, the addition of flights using the 777s will increase the number of seats available.

The airline is the leader in India in terms of passengers carried and the number of aircraft operated. This leading airline as of January 2023 has 302 aircraft. The carrier operates the Airbus A320ceo, A320neo, A321neo and ATR-72.

The 17-year-old airline has both international and domestic operations. It is necessary to note that international operations are limited to the range of the equipment being used. Therefore, long-haul flights are not possible at the moment.

A Longtime Goal

From its very onset, the carrier has had its sights set on long-haul international flights. Such operation can soon be successful, owing to the Airbus A321XLR and its highly extended range.

The low-cost carrier already has a substantial advance order for the model. The range offered by such aircraft would enable the airline to carry passengers directly from New Delhi to London.

However, the A321XLR is still some time away from entering service.

In order to accustom itself and expedite its timeline for regular international long-haul operations, the airline has entered this wet-leasing deal. The highly successful carrier also has codeshare agreements with Turkish Airlines, Qantas, American Airlines, Air France – KLM, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

This entire wet-leasing venture between both airlines is a win-win situation. IndiGo can keep increasing its footprint on the global platform and Turkish Airlines will be able to carry more passengers from India, which is capped due to bilateral agreements between both countries.

The above arrangement is separate from the codeshare agreement already in place.

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