Indigo Now Permitted To Wet Lease Turkish Boeing 777 Aircraft For A Year, As The Government Relaxes The Rules

Indigo Now Permitted To Wet Lease Turkish Boeing 777 Aircraft For A Year, As The Government Relaxes The Rules | Exclusive

IndiGo now permitted to wet lease Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines for a period of one year, After the applicable standard was relaxed by the civil aviation ministry.

The current law permits an Indian carrier to take delivery of an aircraft on a wet lease for a period of three months, with the option of a single, extra three-month extension. Only in dire circumstances are such leases allowed. These include unexpected plane groundings, among other things.

Due to Easter staff strikes, British Airways cancels 300 flights

Air India Is Planning To Increase Salary By 8-10%, Due To Increased Competition | Exclusive

IndiGo requested that the civil aviation ministry allow a two-year lease rather than merely a six-month one since it expects to wet lease three Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from Turkish Airlines. The government has only partially approved this submission.

In a wet lease, the lessor supplies the pilots with and handles the maintenance and insurance of the aircraft. During the term of the lease, the lessor is also in charge of maintaining operational control of the aircraft.

IndiGo said in a statement that it has received a notification from the aviation ministry granting Indian carriers permission to wet lease aircraft for a six-month period that might be extended by another six months. All Indian carriers may request such a concession, which the government will take into account based on the worldwide destinations the airline intends to serve.

According to the statement, “IndiGo is presently working on finalising the contract for the wet leasing.”

IndiGo said last month that it would begin operating flights between Mumbai and Istanbul on January 1. These would be in addition to the flights it now runs using Airbus A320/321Neo-type aircraft between Delhi and Istanbul.

Compared to the Boeing 777, the Airbus aircraft have a lower payload and range. Due to the prevailing wind conditions on the Istanbul route, the airline has in the past had to dump luggage or come to a technical halt.

The number of available seats on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will nearly treble when they are wet leased between India and Turkey. Turkish Airlines will also gain from it because the current bilateral air service agreement restricts the airline’s ability to expand in India.

Since 2018, IndiGo and Turkish Airlines have shared codes. On 19 Turkish Airlines-operated flights to Portugal and Switzerland, IndiGo announced code sharing last week.

“We have seen a significant demand for travel from India to Turkey, Switzerland, and Portugal.”
Vinay Malhotra, head of global sales for IndiGo

We now provide 19 connecting flights via Istanbul to places like Geneva, Lisbon, Porto, and Basel in response to client demand. This will increase capacity on certain routes, improve international connectivity, and lower the cost of travel.