IndiGo inducts its 100th aircraft

New Delhi: Major no-frills carrier IndiGo on November 4 inducted its 100th airplane, completing its first order of many Airbus A-320 aircraft placed with the French manufacturer in 2005. The A-320 plane landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport this morning, enabling IndiGo, which holds India's largest aviation market share, to join the league of Air India and Jet Airways which also have over 100 planes in their respective fleets.

The completion of its first order came weeks after it placed the largest global aircraft order for 250 of the latest Airbus A-320 neo aircraft worth over USD 25.5 billion or Rs 1.55 lakh crore. In 2011, IndiGo had placed its second order of 180 A-320 neos planes worth about USD 11 billion, which was the largest-ever at that time.

The Gurgaon-based no-frills airline, which commenced operations in August 2006, had placed its first order of 100 A-320s at the Paris Air Show in 2005 and took the delivery of the first aircraft on July 28, 2006 and the last one on November 4. With a market share of 32.8 per cent in September, IndiGo offers 542 daily flights connecting 36 domestic and international destinations and has flown over 80 million passengers since its launch in 2006.

The airline celebrated the induction of 100th aircraft by launching a programme to sponsor the education and nurturing of 100 underprivileged children. The programme called '6E Scholar' is being carried out in partnership with an NGO, Mensa India.

IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said "this is truly a milestone for IndiGo as we fulfil the promise of a 100 airplanes. "True to IndiGo style, we are not celebrating with a big party but with the launch of the 6E Scholar programme to educate a 100 of India's best minds. We have committed over Rs 100 lakhs as the initial funding for the 6E Scholar programme," he said.