IndiGo targets international routes with its Airbus A321XLR this year
IndiGo is the largest customer in the order books of the new ‘Xtra Long Range’ Airbus A321XLR with 69 aircrafts. The delivery of the first aircraft is expected in the second half of this year.
Indian low-cost airliner IndiGo is eagerly awaiting the deliveries of the extra long range aircraft that it ordered from Airbus back in 2019. The aircraft in question is the new Airbus A321XLR, which can flex wings of the airline to target the international routes beyond Middle East and South East Asia. The medium- and long-haul foreign routes in India are largely dominated by global airlines at present.
The narrow-body, single-aisle A321XLR is designed specifically for low-cost long-haul applications. In those long routes with limited traffic, deploying a widebody aircraft would be unprofitable for the operators. The Airbus A321XLR makes a strong case in this regard. Even on popular routes, the airlines can increase the frequency of the flights with this aircraft, again eliminating widebodies with higher operational costs.
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In paper, the aircraft can support a range of up to 4,700 NM and about 11 hours of non-stop flying. An additional Rear Centre fuel Tank (RCT) has been slapped onto the fuselage for extending the range. Further, the A321XLRs are also relatively fuel efficient than widebodies or any other predecessors in the Airbus narrow-body category.
Abhijit Dasgupta, Senior VP (Network Planning and Revenue Management) at IndiGO considers the new A321XLRs as important asset for the airline. Speaking to the Airliner World, he has opined that the aircrafts will enable overseas markets up to 8.5 hours away from India. “The aircraft’s enhanced range and additional capacity makes it a vital asset for establishing non-stop connections to several underserved markets from India”, he added.
IndiGo is aggressively expanding its international operations in recent times. The airline is expected to deploy A321XLR on major destinations routes in Europe, Australia and East Asia. Moreover, the company will also try to leverage the aircraft’s longer range by deploying them outside of its existing hub-and-spoke scheme.
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The company’s CEO Pieter Elbers had previously noted that the aircraft will enable flying to parts of Europe, Asia and Australia, including places like Athens, Seoul, and Rome from India. “That requires a different product domestically, and that’s why we are launching the business class”, he added.
However, the relatively limited luggage capacity of the Airbus A321XLR may impact its commercial deployment on certain routes. Popular routes, especially connecting capital cities and tourist destinations, may require higher baggage space on par with widebodies.
