IndiGo gets DGCA's nod to wet lease wide-body Boeing 777 from Turkish airlines for upto 6 months

Aviation regulator DGCA has allowed IndiGo to wet lease wide-body Boeing 777 planes from Turkish Airlines for up to six months and has rejected the domestic carrier's request for leasing the aircraft for up to two years. IndiGo, along with SpiceJet, submitted a request to DGCA for wet leasing planes ahead of the winter schedule. Along with IndiGo, DGCA has also granted nod to SpiceJet to wet lease 5 Boeing 737 Max planes, of which, the company has already leased 2 planes. IndiGo, on the other hand, has only narrow-body planes in its fleet, and for the first time, has decided to lease wide-body aircraft to operate more flights on international routes to meet rising demand.

IndiGo has a codeshare agreement with the Turkish Airline and once inducted, IndiGo will join Vistara and Air India as the only airline in India to have wide body planes for international operations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) turned down the request of the country's largest airline to wet lease the aircraft for a longer period, citing that the move could become diversion of traffic rights in collusion with a strong foreign carrier that will mainly feed the latter's hub abroad with more passengers from India, the sources said.

Currently, there are also supply issues from engine makers Pratt & Whitney and CFM as a result of which many Airbus A320 planes of IndiGo and Go First are on the ground. The sources said DGCA has permitted IndiGo to wet lease wide-body aircraft from Turkish Airlines for three months and the period can be extended by another three months.

Generally, wet leasing of planes is allowed for short periods to tackle supply constraints and ensure that airfares do not surge significantly. Under wet lease arrangement, planes are leased along with operating crew and engineers.

On October 12, PTI reported that IndiGo will soon be leasing up to four wide-body Boeing 777 planes to cover the shortfall in its international operations. According to the sources, wet leasing of an aircraft essentially means an Indian airline is only issuing tickets for aircraft being operated by the carrier from which the planes have been taken.

At present, bilaterals between India and Turkey provide for only two flights daily to be operated by airlines from either side. IndiGo has a fleet of more than 275 planes and flies to 26 international destinations. It is also the country's largest domestic airline with a market share of 57.7 per cent in September. 

With PTI inputs