India-based carrier IndiGo will receive its first ever wide-body aircraft from Boeing. This is the first time that a Boeing 777-300ER will be operated by a low-cost airline.
In February 2023, IndiGo signed a wet-leasing contract to operate some of Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ERs. Both airlines have a codeshare agreement, allowing the low-cost carrier to commercialize destinations in France, Netherlands, Germany, UK, and Turkey.
The inclusion of the IndiGo 777 will allow the low-cost carrier to offer the same services on its flights to Turkey. Turkish Airlines’ triple 7 has a 400-seat configuration, but the aircraft leased to IndiGo will be able to carry 524 passengers in economy and seven in business class, the highest density for an Indian airline.
The aircraft in question will be TC-LKD, a 13.9-year-old airframe. It was previously operated by Alitalia and was intended to be delivered to Azur Air in Russia, but economic sanctions resulting from the war in Ukraine prevented the Russian operator from receiving it.
High-density Boeing 777 previous operators
Among low-cost carriers, only Scoot and Jin Air have operated the Boeing 777, but the series -200ER, with a configuration of 402 and 393 seats.
But IndiGo’s 777 configuration positions it as the highest density of the model.
IndiGo shares the record with the new Turkish airline, Southwind, which recently received its first Boeing 777-300ER with a similar configuration.
Other Russian companies such as Rossiya and Nordwind maintain their 777s with a configuration of between 440 and 486 seats in a single class.
Prior to retirement, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways operated several Boeing 777s configured for 500 passengers.
