Report: IndiGo To Lease Six Norse Atlantic Boeing 787s, Fly Long Haul

It looks like India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has plans to launch long haul flights earlier than initially planned. I’m fascinated by the implications of this.

IndiGo nears deal for Norse Atlantic Boeing 787s

IndiGo is a powerhouse in Indian aviation, but up until now, the airline has almost exclusively operated narrow body jets, and hasn’t operated long haul flights. That’s going to be changing eventually.

In April 2024, IndiGo placed a firm order for 30 Airbus A350-900s. The planes will be delivered as of 2027, and the plan is for IndiGo to go head-to-head against carriers like Air India on a global scale. On top of that, IndiGo has 69 Airbus A321XLRs on order, which will be delivered starting in 2025, and will open up all kinds of new markets.

It now looks like IndiGo may want to spread its wings with wide body aircraft a bit earlier than initially planned. There are widespread reports that IndiGo is nearing a deal to wet lease six Norse Atlantic Boeing 787-9s. With a wet lease agreement, Norse Atlantic would provide the planes and crew, while IndiGo would market and sell the flights.

IndiGo’s plan is reportedly to launch long haul flights ASAP to destinations like London and Paris. The lease could start as soon as the coming months, with all six planes expected to be delivered in 2025.

What’s interesting is that for weeks there have been reports that Norse Atlantic had finalized a deal to lease out six of its jets, with the customer remaining private. So it makes sense that the customer would be IndiGo.

Up until recently, India banned these kinds of wet lease agreements with foreign airlines, so regulations being eased make this possible. India is getting rid of these restrictions due to the general aircraft shortages there are right now, which are driving up ticket prices.

Norse Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9s are configured with 338 seats, including 56 premium economy seats and 282 economy seats. I imagine that the configuration would remain unchanged, but who knows…

Here’s what an IndiGo spokesperson has said about the possibility of a wet lease agreement like this:

“IndiGo is committed to constantly evolve to provide our customers an alternate and differentiated travel experience, which is best in class. In April, IndiGo announced the order for wide-body A350-900 aircraft with deliveries starting 2027 and alongside the XLR aircraft expected next year (2025), IndiGo is well positioned to expand our geographic reach and serve the ever-growing demand for international travel to and from India. In order to address this growing demand and in keeping also in mind global supply chain challenges, IndiGo is exploring interim solutions for an earlier introduction of long range aircraft to its fleet. Route and network opportunities related to these solutions are being explored at present,”

My take on IndiGo leasing Norse Atlantic Boeing 787s

When I first heard about the concept of IndiGo leasing Norse Atlantic Boeing 787s, I wondered what exactly IndiGo’s rush is with wide body service. The airline went so long without these aircraft, and now the airline is in a sudden rush to fly wide bodies, to the point that it’s willing to engage in a wet lease operation of this scale. What suddenly changed?

But the more I think about it, the more merit I see to this:

• When launching long haul flights, there are lots of logistics to work out, like trying to secure slots at airports, so it helps if IndiGo can start to get those details ironed out before it starts getting its own A350s
• Filling seats between India and Europe isn’t difficult, and I have no doubts that the airline will at least be able to break even on these flights
• Presumably IndiGo wants to see how these routes perform, and that may also help with deciding how many more A350 orders the company wants to firm up; after all, the airline has 70 options remaining

In the case of Norse Atlantic, this is also an interesting (and logical) direction for the airline to take. Norse Atlantic has been evolving its business model, because the current one simply makes no sense. For those not familiar, Norse Atlantic is an ultra low cost carrier that primarily operates transatlantic flights. The airline copied Norwegian’s (failed) business model, but acquired aircraft on better terms. Long haul ultra low cost flying in highly seasonal markets just doesn’t work.

Norse Atlantic is now (smartly) trying to pivot, and that includes increasingly operating wet lease flights on behalf of other airlines. One really has to wonder if Norse Atlantic will even bother maintaining scheduled flights:

• The airline hasn’t made money operating its own flights, while leasing out jets at least pays the bills, since you know what your costs and revenue will be, and it’s very low risk
• With half of Norse’s fleet being used as part of this arrangement, one wonders if there’s even merit to operating scheduled flights anymore; after all, there are some fixed costs to marketing and selling your own flights, and those costs go up on a per-flight basis without growth or scaling the network

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Norse Atlantic just throw in the towel on its own scheduled flying at some point, and focus on leasing out jets. That was the more logical business model in the first place.

Bottom line

Rumor has it that IndiGo plans to wet lease six Norse Atlantic Boeing 787-9s, in order to launch long haul flights in 2025, to places like London and Paris. IndiGo has historically been a regional airline, but the company ordered 30 Airbus A350-900s earlier this year, with the plan of going global.

Now Norse Atlantic wants to start flying long haul sooner than planned, by leasing some jets, thanks to the government easing up regulations. This seems like it could be a win-win — it’ll help Norse Atlantic control losses, while it will allow IndiGo to start dabbling with long haul flying sooner than planned.

What do you make of IndiGo leasing Norse Atlantic Boeing 787s?