IndiGo will further expand its long-haul operations, now planning to lease three more 787s from Norse Atlantic this year. The announcement this week expands the contract from one aircraft (announced three weeks ago) to four.
The first Norse 787 is expected to begin service for IndiGo on 1 March 2025, with Bangkok announced this week by CEO Pieter Elbers as the first destination. IndiGo already serves Bangkok, making it an easier market to launch the 787 service at, with existing staff support.
The additional three planes will help the carrier expand into Europe, though no specific destinations are confirmed. Typical large cities were teased, though those all come with challenges around airport slots.
The additional three aircraft are expected to join the IndiGo operation “from second half 2025” with a six month term. That lease can be extended to 18 months, same as the initial aircraft contract.
Norse CEO Bjorn Tore Larson previously shared the goal of “more of the fleet’s capacity and revenue being locked into longerterm contracts, leaving Norse with a business model carrying lower market risk going forward.” The company particularly wants to see its charter services stronger in the winter months when demand for transatlantic long-haul operations drops.
As part of its earnings release this morning Norse updated that guidance. The carrier shared it will have “a fleet of 11 aircraft operating its own scheduled network during the summer ahead, whereas the longer-term fleet allocation under secured contracts will be eight aircraft in own scheduled network and four aircraft on longer-term ACMI.”
This suggests the three additional planes will not move to India until the September/October 2025 timeframe. Norse’s branded schedule peaks in August per current schedules filed in Cirium.
The Norse 787s join Turkish 777s operating under the IndiGo brand. Those planes, fitted with 531 seats, have operated from Istanbul to Delhi and Mumbai since mid-2023.
While the wet-lease play with IndiGo is valuable to Norse today, it will face challenges in the future. IndiGo will, eventually, seek to run its own long-haul business. The carrier holds orders for 30 A350-900s, plus options for 70 more.
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