June 19 (UPI) -- India's largest airline announced Monday it has made the largest ever purchase of Airbus A320 aircraft.
At the Paris Air Show, IndiGo airlines released a statement saying it has placed a firm order for 500 of the narrow-body aircraft. After delivery, IndiGo will have more than 1,300 A320s in its fleet.
Pieter Elbers, CEO of New Delhi-based IndiGo, said the purchase is good for the company but also for India.
"It is difficult to overstate the significance of IndiGo's new historic order for 500 Airbus A320-family aircraft," Elbers said in a statement about the purchase. "An order book now of almost 1,000 aircraft well into the next decade enables IndiGo to fulfill its mission to continue to boost economic growth, social cohesion and mobility in India."
Airline officials said the purchase agreement makes IndiGo the largest customer of the Airbus A320.
IndiGo has more than 300 aircraft flying more than 1,800 flights daily, according to airline officials, who also said the carrier serves 78 domestic destinations and soon will add 32 international destinations.
The A320 was launched in 1984. IndiGo said the aircraft's "enhanced aerodynamics and the latest-generation jet engines" are instrumental in reducing fuel consumption and energy emissions.
