'We haven't finalised': IndiGo on reports that it plans to buy 500 jets from Boeing, Airbus

Hours after it was reported that IndiGo was in talks with plane manufacturers to buy 500 jets, the budget carrier said it has not finalised anything till now. On Friday, Reuters reported that the airline was in talks with Boeing and Airbus to buy hundreds of passenger jets.

The country's largest domestic player said it is constantly in talks with the manufacturers as it plans its next phase of growth. "However, we haven't finalized anything till now," the airline said, adding that it does not comment on speculations and will share information as and when it has an update.

Also read: IndiGo eyes expansion with 500 Airbus planes already on order

The news agency reported that IndiGo was in talks with both American plane maker Boeing and its current supplier Airbus to order more than 500 passenger jets, potentially smashing an industry record set by domestic rival Air India a few weeks ago.

On February 14, Tata-owned Air India ordered 470 jets from Boeing and Airbus, becoming the first player to place an order of this size. The airline is buying 220 jets from Boeing and 250 from Airbus.

Reuters in its report said that IndiGo has until now been an exclusive buyer of narrow-body jets from France's Airbus and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last month that IndiGo was close to ordering several hundred planes from the European planemaker.

Also read: Air India's deal with Boeing, Airbus is HUGE! CEO Wilson says list price is $ 70 billion

But negotiations to keep renewing IndiGo's fleet from the end of the decade have also broadened to include mid-sized wide-body jets, sparking a contest between Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and the upgraded Airbus A330neo, sources told Reuters.

The budget carrier is also comparing the A320neo with the Boeing 737 MAX as it weighs a major new order for narrow-body jets, the sources said.

According to the report, IndiGo is widely expected to maintain Airbus as its supplier of narrow-body jets to squeeze out further economies of scale. The airline is one of Airbus's largest customers and has so far ordered a total of 830 Airbus A320-family jets of which 488 are still to be delivered.

IndiGo, which enjoys dominance in the domestic market, is expected to face a tough challenge from Air India as the latter looks to expand its wings with more jets in the sky. In September last year, Air India said over the next 5 years, it will strive to increase its market share to at least 30 per cent in the domestic market.

Currently, IndiGo is the largest player in domestic with 55 per cent market share while Air India is in the third position with nearly 10 per cent share.