IndiGo offers glimpse of India’s first A321XLR aircraft: 'About to make its way home’

The aircraft will also mark the Gurgaon-based airline’s foray into medium-to-long-haul markets as it seeks to expand its footprint. (Pic: IndiGo)

• IndiGo unveils India's first A321 XLR aircraft for long-haul flights
• The new aircraft enables non-stop flights to major cities like Athens
• A321 XLR offers 30 percent lower fuel burn and 50 percent less noise

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IndiGo showcased the first sight of its new A321 XLR aircraft set to land in the India soon, the company announced in a post on January 7. The Airbus aircraft will be India’s first, the country’s biggest airline said in the post.

“India’s first A321 XLR aircraft is about to make its way home,” the airline said on X.

The aircraft is known for long-haul flights and will provide a boost to the airline’s global expansion plans. The new aircraft will offer flights to both domestic and international destinations, including non-stop options to major cities such as Athens.

IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation's stock was trading 1.56 percent lower at Rs 4,924.5 on NSE at 12:50 pm.

The aircraft will also mark the Gurgaon-based airline’s foray into medium-to-long-haul markets as it seeks to expand its footprint.

Why A321 XLR could be a game changer for IndiGo?

The A321 XLR is based on the aircraft maker’s popular A321neo. XLR is fully optimized airline and offers new opportunities for airlines, according to Airbus. It can fly up to 4,700 NM and has a maximum sitting capacity for 244 passengers, providing low-risk solution to open new long-haul routes, the aircraft maker said.

The aircraft burns 30 percent lower fuel and makes 50 percent less noise., In addition, the aircraft can flight for up to 11 hours without any stops.

The overall length of the aircraft is 44.41 meter and has a maximum take-off weight of 101.5 tonnes, according to Airbus.

IndiGo, which earlier last month cancelled thousands of flights and caused severe hardships to lakhs of passengers across airports, also said the "learnings" from the year gone by enables it to enhance its operational reliability, among others.

IndiGo had earlier said it expects to close 2025 with over 123 million passengers, up from 113 million it carried in 2024.