Mumbai, Feb. 6 -- Domestic carrier IndiGo on Thursday said it has entered into a pact with Norse Atlantic Airways for the damp lease of one Boeing 787-9 aircraft, amid its reported plans to fly directly to Europe.
The widebody aircraft will arrive in the country in the coming weeks and is expected to start operations in March 2025, IndiGo said in a statement.
It also said that both IndiGo and Norse Atlantic will continue exploring opportunities to contract additional aircraft and increase their collaboration further.
This would be the first time the airline will induct a Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet. As of now, Tata Group-owned Air India has these planes in operation.
IndiGo currently has two widebody B777 aircraft in its fleet of 352 operational aircraft, wet-leased from Turkish airlines with whom it has a codeshare arrangement in place, which the Gurugram-based airline operates to Istanbul from Delhi and Mumbai.
Wet lease of an aircraft by an Indian carrier involves the leasing of foreign aircraft, along with crew, maintenance, and insurance. The plane is also under the operational control of the foreign operator (lessor) and subject to regulatory requirements of the foreign civil aviation authority concerned.
In a damp lease, the lessor provides the maintenance along with the aircraft but not the crew and insurance.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.