Business
Airbus A320 Neo (Photo Via Airbus Website)
IndiGo, India's biggest airline, is reportedly buying 500 A320 planes from Airbus.
During an online conference in Turkey's Istanbul, the European planemaker has become the frontrunner for the significant order surpassing Air India's record purchase of 470 jets earlier this year, according to Industry sources cited in a Moneycontrol report as saying.
The deal, estimated at around $50 billion at most recent prices of Airbus, is likely to be worth less than half the value after airline industry discounts for bulk orders are applied.
Airbus and Boeing are reportedly in talks to sell 25 A330neo or 787 wide-body jets to the same airline.
IndiGo's order with Airbus and Boeing has been in discussions, and if confirmed would be the largest by a single carrier, Reuters reported.
IndiGo, a major customer of Airbus, has ordered 830 A320 airplanes from the European planemaker, of which around 500 remain undelivered.
Airbus and Boeing have secured new orders beyond 2030 as airlines prepare for looming shortages, resulting in billions of dollars in sales for the planemakers.
India's airlines have the world's second-highest backlog, trailing only the United States, according to a report by Barclays on 1 June.