The IndiGo Story: Inside the Upstart that Redefined Indian Aviation

by Shelley Vishwajeet

IndiGo’s choice of its fleet—Airbus A320—was a well thought of exercise to keep its finance and operational costs down. It was not based simply on the initial cost of acquisition, but factored in the entire life-cycle operational, maintenance and finance cost of fleet. It began by deciding to have a single class of aircraft to reduce maintenance costs and other hassles associating with owning multi-class fleet, and to build a better relationship with the aircraft supplier. The first bulk order of 100 aircrafts did give it an unprecedented acquisition cost advantage over the competition as it lowered its initial finance burden and spread the payment over a fairly long period of time, while ensuring a steady supply of planes even when demand for planes picked up. In contrast, the competition’s cost of aircraft acquisition shot up due to absence of forward planning and innovative thinking or simply lack of self-belief. The choice of Airbus A320 fleet offered other benefits too.