IndiGo has extended the wet-lease period of three 777 widebody aircraft that were leased from Turkish Airlines to operate more India-Istanbul flights, for a period of six months. Initially IndiGo had intended to lease the aircraft for two years, however, the request was turned down by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India.
Experts believe that the major reason behind this was the DGCA’s lack of sufficient safety control over aircraft operating under wet lease agreements. Wet-leasing an aircraft for IndiGo would effectively imply that IndiGo would just sell tickets for flights that are being operated by the original carrier. The foreign airline would provide the whole operating staff and engineering staff.
As per the 2016 regulations, a wet lease from abroad is only permitted in "emergencies" by the DGCA, and that too for not more than six months. The emergencies cover unexpected grounding of the aircraft of an existing AOP (air operating permit) holder, aircraft under scheduled maintenance or checks, or any other unforeseen circumstances," the regulations noted.
As per the regulations, a wet lease from abroad is not permitted for capacity or route expansion purposes of an existing airline.
IndiGo's fleet comprises around 280 planes and all of them are narrowbody, with economy-class capacity. The airline has decided to wet lease three widebody planes, with business class, from Turkish Airlines to operate more flights on India-Istanbul routes.
IndiGo announced its winter schedule earlier this month with increased capacity on the Mumbai-Istanbul route to meet travel demands.
"International air travel is going through a strong period of recovery, and demand continues to rise in the upcoming festive and winter season. This is a positive sign for the industry and IndiGo remains very bullish on strong growth for international travel to and from India in the future," the airline said in a statement.
However, as the supply chain disruptions continue, IndiGo came up with a temporary solution to meet the passenger traffic needs and aftermarket recovery. "As an interim measure, we have decided to take on wet/ damp lease certain aircraft to cover the shortfall for our scheduled international operations. We have received in-principal approval from the regulators for the same and the induction of these aircraft remains subject to further requisite regulatory approvals," the airline confirmed.
Besides IndiGo, Air India has also adopted the leasing model to boost its capacity. Just last month Air India announced to increase the fleet size from 113 to 143 planes by December 2023 by leasing five widebody planes and 25 narrowbody planes.
With almost 60% market share in the domestic aviation market, IndiGo is now eyeing international routes for expansion.