Norse Atlantic to lease a Boeing 787 to IndiGo

In IndiGo’s effort to expand its sphere of operations, it has converted the “Letter of Intenet” it had with Norse Atlantic into a wet lease agreement.

The original Letter of Intent between the two parties covered the lease of six aircraft. This has been converted into a firm wet-lease agreement for one aircraft with IndiGo.

The aircraft is expected to start operations in March 2025 serving long-haul routes out of India.

The initial term of the Agreement is six months, extendable to up to 18 months, subject to regulatory approvals. Both parties remain committed to exploring opportunities to further extend this period, subject to regulatory approvals, as well as being able to contract additional aircraft into the agreement.

In Quotes

Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO and Founder of Norse Atlantic Airways said:

“This contract represents an important milestone for Norse as we partner with one of the largest and most reputable airlines in the world. We look forward to support IndiGo’s long haul services, and to deliver an exceptional travel experience to their customers” 

Getting a head start

Indigo has an order book for 30 Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft with options for an additional 70 aircraft. However, deliveries are expected to commence from 2027. This puts them in a bit of a bind if they wish to start long-haul services quickly.

In the past, the airline has wet-leased Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines to support operations.

For now, we’ll have to wait where to Indigo plans to operate its leased Boeing 787-9 to, and if it intends to expand the operation

In the meantime, IndiGo currently operates a fleet of 403 Airbus A320 family aircraft (covering the A320, A320neo and A321neo), as well as 50 ATR72-600 which are used for primarily domestic and regional short to medium-haul services out of India.