New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- IndiGo Airlines, India's largest carrier, is steadily shifting to owning and financially leasing commercial jets in place of its earlier successful strategy of selling and leasing back planes, its chief executive said.

The sale-and-leaseback model has been central to IndiGo's financial success and market domination in the last 19 years. Planes bought at competitive prices in large orders would be sold on delivery to aircraft leasing companies and leased back into service-resulting in significant profits, which then were ploughed back into expansion of its fleet.

The Gurugram-based airline aims to own and have on finance lease 40% of its planes by 2030, up from 18% now, chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers tol...