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Aircraft industry

IndiGo Extends Avionics Maintenance Agreement with Thales Group

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

IndiGo, India's largest airline, has extended its long-term avionics maintenance agreement with Thales Group of France, covering up to 250 aircraft, including the new A320neo variant. The contract comes as the airline continues to prioritize affordable travel with on-time performance. This strategic partnership is crucial for IndiGo's success, as the airline has consistently kept its maintenance costs low, at just 3% of total expenses, compared to 8-12% of its peers.

Key Takeaways:

  • IndiGo has extended its avionics maintenance agreement with Thales Group for its growing fleet of up to 250 aircraft, including the A320neo variant.
  • The contract will provide spares availability and replenishment to IndiGo with stocks located onsite at their main hub in New Delhi and a pool of spare parts in Thales' Asia-Pacific repair hub in Singapore.
  • Thales' flexible solution will help IndiGo optimize fleet maintenance while keeping inventory under control, according to Daniel Malka, Thales' vice president (avionics services worldwide).
  • Aditya Ghosh, president of IndiGo, emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive maintenance and support program with a vendor like Thales.
  • IndiGo has consistently kept its maintenance costs low at 3% of total expenses compared to 8-12% of its peers, with a maintenance cost of Rs.291.45 crore as of December 2014.
  • IndiGo operated 96 aircraft as of April 30 and has the second youngest average fleet age of 3.1 years among Indian airlines.
  • Jet Airways, in comparison, has a fleet of 116 aircraft with an average fleet age of 6.01 years and a maintenance cost of Rs.3,100 crore, or 14.5% of total costs.

Statistics:

  • Up to 250 aircraft covered by the extended avionics maintenance agreement.
  • Rs.291.45 crore maintenance cost for IndiGo as of December 2014, representing 3.1% of total expenses.
  • Rs.3,100 crore maintenance cost for Jet Airways, or 14.5% of total costs.
  • Rs.0.11 per available seat km (ASKM) spent by IndiGo on maintenance of its fleet, compared to Rs.0.74 by Jet Airways.
  • 3% of total expenses allocated for maintenance at IndiGo, compared to 8-12% of its peers.

Sources:

  • "IndiGo extends long-term avionics maintenance deal with Thales," HT Syndication, MINT.

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