Two years after taking delivery of the 1,000th A320neo family jet in 2019, Indian budget airline IndiGo can proudly claim that it has taken delivery of the 2,000th aircraft. Taking place on Tuesday, November 30th, the airline made the announcement on December 2nd, noting that this particular jet is the longest member of the A320neo family, the A321neo.
IndiGo’s newest aircraft
India’s IndiGo took the delivery of the 2,000th A320neo family aircraft on Tuesday. The plane is an Airbus A321neo with MSN10654. Produced and delivered in Hamburg, Germany, the jet will trade in its test registration D-AVWS for its Indian letters VT-IME.
Commenting on the special milestone, Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer at IndiGo, stated the following:
“IndiGo was early to recognize the fuel efficiency and performance of the A320neo family, which resulted in large orders for neo family aircraft. The vision was not only to increase the efficiency, but also the sustainability of the fleet. IndiGo took delivery of the 1,000th A320neo Family aircraft produced in 2019 and just two years later is taking delivery of the 2,000th aircraft.”
Mr Dutta adds that the continued induction of A320neo family aircraft despite the challenges of the global health crisis is “a testament to the airline’s unrelenting commitment to sustainable aviation…”
According to AIB Family Flights, MSN 10654 was first spotted at the start of October 2021. At the time, the jet was without its engines. On November 17th and 19th, the jet was spotted conducting taxi checks and RTOs (rejected take-offs) at Airbus’ Hamburg Finkenwerder facility, while an engine-run and taxi check was conducted on November 22nd. Interestingly, to date, no test flight data has been logged for this aircraft.
IndiGo’s last delivery milestone
As already mentioned, this latest milestone comes two years after another significant Airbus milestone: The delivery of the 1,000th A320neo family aircraft. Taking place in October of 2019, this previous achievement also saw the special aircraft, an A320neo, go to IndiGo. While the 1,000th A320neo family aircraft was given a special decal to mark its status, it is unknown if the 2,000th A320neo family jet will be given something similar. As an aside, Lebanese carrier MEA took delivery of the 10,000th A320 family aircraft and also had a special decal to mark the achievement.
IndiGo notes that it holds the title of “the world’s largest customer” for the A320neo Family. Indeed, the airline has orders totaling 730 aircraft. Since the airline’s first NEO was delivered in March 2016, IndiGo’s fleet of A320neo Family has grown into the world’s largest at 187 aircraft. These jets operate alongside 61 A320s and 34 ATRs. IndiGo can also proudly claim the title of India’s largest airline by fleet size and passenger numbers.
The world’s first A320neo was delivered in January 2016, and the A320neo program has achieved a number of milestones every year since. The very first A321neo was produced in 2017 and the first A321LR in 2018. The next big milestone for Airbus should be the production of the first A321XLR set for 2022. The XLR is set to enter service in 2023.
Have you flown on an A320neo or A321neo yet? Share your experiences with us by leaving a comment.
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