A350 vs 787 - IndiGo's Massive Order

Can't blame any airline from going with Airbus over Boeing these days, Boeing did this to themselves!!

There is one argument often forgotten: When the airline industry flourishs, pilots soon are in short supply, and airlines need to attract them and keep them on board. Airbus has the HUGE advantage over Boeing in commonality of the cockpit and the flight characteristics beetween their (A320 only!) narrowbodies and all current widebody models. So airlines like Indigo can offer young recruits a CAREER PATH from A320 FO to A320 captain, then getting (as a reward for something) a type training on the A350 and then moving up into the (better paid and more prestigious) flight deck of the bigger jet. A future Indigo A320 pilot would - if successful and well accepted by his management - stay with his airline rather than hop away. Boeing once had cockpit commonality between the 757 and 767 (which was infamously utilized by Osama bL's 9/11 terror squad), but there is no sufficient similarity between the 737 and the 777/787, and certainly none between Indigo's A320s and the 787. By selecting the A350, Indigo has laid the foundation for a huge benefit in HR management.

Toulouse engineers don't need to jump up and down on the sections to make 'em (sort of) join up according to the FAA....so the service life isn't reduced by 80%.

Thanks Dj!!

As an LCC IndiGo's customers will happily accept 10 wide seating in A350s, similar to the B777s already being leased from Turkish. Pretty sure the seat mile cost in that configuration will be a lot better than the B787

Good job Airbus !

Considering multiple Boeing issues, IndiGo had no choice but the A350, like Lufthansa should.

Most people do not know that in A350 MTOW can be adjusted by software. This saves airport fees and some fuel when not flying all seats full.

IndiGo are an LCC, 10 wide seating on the A350 will suits their market. The seat mile advantage over the B787 family in that configuration is likely to be considerable

Both are a great choice on paper. It is just that the Boeing has a serious confidence problem. Will it be built in accordance with the specification, and will it be delivered on time?

my thought is that indigo purchased the a350-900 because of demand, availability (more planes from airbus in timely manner), and range, as simply the 787-10 is too heavy, no range cause boeing is cutting costs (keeping same wings and landing gears), and the order will take longer than airbus.

The reason (one of them) that Indigo didn’t choose Boeing for long hall is because of the lack of fleet commonality with their existing a320 series aircraft.

Indigo is a world class airline. They should go for upmarket premium economy and economy configuration instead of business class .

I'm waiting to see if Jetblue Airways is gonna order some A350s next 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

The 10 abreast seating is made easier on newer a350s because from 2022 Airbus has widened the a350's cabin by 4 inches (10cm), which isn't a lot but it does allow to fit the standard 17 inch seats in a 10 abreast configuration. (french bee, which also uses 10 abreast seating, uses 16 inch seats).

coz they can save a lot training cost for the A350. coz they have lots of A320 family.

Probably a few things played a role here. Definitely, as mentioned below, cockpit commonality. This drives down costs and increases planing flexibility. Technically, the range of the A350 make it also more flexible. This means they can serve further away destinations without the need for another aircraft. This is an area where the A350 really beats the 787, and it seems this is a key topic for operators. Even if the 787 is a few % more efficient, the shorter range kills that advantage. Last but not least there is the "delivery dependability". To be honest, with Boeing you can be less secure on delivery dates as something may pop up and push the delivery back. We have seen that with multiple types. Airbus is more reliable in this area, which is really important when you plan to add a complete new type to your fleet (and servicing an entire new set of destinations). You must be able to rely on the delivery dates.

The B787-10 has a too short range compared to the A350-900. Boeing didn't change the wings size compared to the B787-9. Another fail.... Boeing can't compete with Airbus in each segment. The A220 and the A321Neo has no competitive reply from Boeing. And the A350 is putting more and more pressure on widebody segment. Between the B787 and the future B777X. And the fame of Boeing is fading away too...

Congrats to Airbus & Indigo on doing this deal on the superb A350-900. Boeing will be disappointed for sure but with excellent sales already & huge order book too for the B787 they will lick their wounds on this loss & hope to get the next one. Aren`t the airlines fortunate to have the choice of two such great airliners which `overlap` in their competitivness.

Indigo Airlines: Another airline to possibly put 10-abreast economy class configuration on the Airbus A350.