Airbus on verge of securing massive 500 jet order, according to reports

Airbus is on the verge of securing a potentially record-setting deal with IndiGo, India’s largest airline, according to industry insiders who spoke to Reuters on Sunday.

The proposed transaction involves the sale of 500 narrow-body A320-family jets, surpassing Air India’s provisional purchase of 470 aircraft made in February.

The deal would be a huge boost for Airbus Broughton where all the wings for the A320-family jets are produced.

At Airbus’ most recent list prices, this deal carries a price tag of roughly £40 billion.

However, industry analysts suggest that, due to common airline discounts for large-scale purchases, the final figure is likely to be less than half of this.

Both IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers and representatives from Airbus, present at the International Air Transport Association meeting in Istanbul, declined to comment on these commercial discussions.

Reuters first reported in March that IndiGo, boasting a 56% share of India’s domestic market, was negotiating with Airbus and Boeing for a deal that, if confirmed, would mark the largest order from a single airline in terms of units.

IndiGo, one of Airbus’s biggest clients, has already committed to 830 A320-family aircraft, nearly 500 of which are still awaiting delivery.