Paris Air Show: These are the 12 biggest aircraft orders so far

SOARING AIRCRAFT ORDERS: Airlines at the on-going Paris Air Show are demonstrating confidence in the future of both short-haul and the international travel market. On Tuesday (June 20, 2023), India’s largest airline IndiGo announced in the French capital the biggest narrow-body order in civil aviation history, with a record 500-aircraft order. Now, know the most significant aircraft orders so far. The numbers are indicative, and are based on order value reported, or initially made public.

IndiGo, 500 aircraft [$50 billion]: Airbus has landed the biggest-ever aircraft order in the history of commercial aviation when the French aerospace giant announced on Monday (June 20, 2023) that budget Indian airline IndiGo had placed an order for 500 of its A320 planes. The orders are due to delivery between 2030 and 2035. The move came after InterGlobe Aviation, IndiGo’s parent company, got the board's nod for the record-breaking order in a deal estimated to be worth some $50 billion at the most recently published Airbus list prices.

Air India, 470 aircraft [value, $70 billion]: Earlier this year, Air India announced (on February 15, 2023) a provisional purchase of 470 Airbus and Boeing jets. Air India, the subcontinent’s largest international airline and second-largest domestic carrier, announced the purchase of 220 Boeing aircraft and 250 passenger jets from European plane maker. Indian media reported that the total deal was valued at $70 billion, of which Boeing’s part was reportedly valued at $34 billion.

American Airlines, 460 aircraft [value, $38 billion]: Till 2011, the world's largest airline, American Airlines, held the record for the most aircraft ordered when it announced the purchase of 460 narrow-body aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing. These included 260 Airbus A320 jets, and 200 Boeing 737 family aircraft, for delivery from 2013 to 2022. The deal was reportedly valued at more $38 billion at the time.

Indigo Partners, 430 aircraft [value, $49.5 billion]: In 2017, Indigo Partners (a US-based US private equity fund, not be confused with India’s IndiGo) placed orders for 430 Airbus aircraft reportedly valued at $49.5 billion. It was Airbus' largest order till then. Specifically, the order was for 274 A320neos and 156 larger A321neos. Four low-cost carriers on three continents — Frontier Airlines (US), Wizz Air (Hungary), Volaris (Mexico) and JetSmart (Chile) — linked to the equity fund will share the order. In 2019, an order for additional 50 A321XLR aircraft was placed (18 converted from the existing order).


Southwest Airlines, 349 aircraft [value, $__]: Southwest announced its order book additions and revisions announced on March 29, 2021 resulting in a new total of 349 Boeing MAX firm orders (200 MAX 7 and 149 MAX 8) and 270 MAX options for MAX 7 or MAX 8 aircraft for years 2021 through 2031. Its previous order book consisted of 249 MAX firm orders (30 MAX 7 and 219 MAX 8) and 115 MAX options for MAX 7 or MAX 8 aircraft for years 2021 through 2026. With all its options included, the US carrier could take delivery of more than 600 of the jets by 2031.

IndiGo, 300 aircraft [value, $33 billion]: On October 29, 2019, India’s budget carrier IndiGo announced order for 300 Airbus A320neo-family jets worth at least $33 billion at catalog prices. Until then it was European planemaker’s biggest-ever order from a single carrier. This came following the low-cost carrier’s dramatic expansion in recent years. With the delivery of A320 aircraft in late 2019, it became the largest airline in India, and continues to soar that as more aircraft are delivered.

Lion Air, 280 aircraft [value, $21.7 billion]: On November 18, 2011, Jakarta-based Lion Air announced its largest single-order with Boeing for 230 planes worth $21.7 billion, a record-setter till then. The order included 201 Boeing 737 MAX and 29 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft — to which it then added 50 more in 2017. It also ordered 29 Boeing 737-900 ER aircraft at the same time, in what Boeing referred to as its largest commercial aircraft order till then. Lion Air has been rapidly expanding its fleet to meet the need for medium-haul jets servicing the growing aviation market in Indonesia, the world's fourth most-populous country.

United Airlines, 270 aircraft [$37 billion]: In June 2021, United placed a huge order for 200 Boeing jets, along with 70 planes from Airbus. The airline stated that its data points to a surge in the appetite for flying and splurged away on the largest wide-body order in the history of US aviation. One hundred Dreamliners, with an option for 100 more, plus 100 MAX narrowbodies (44 exercised options, 56 new units). At list price, the deal was valued at more than $37 billion.

Lion Air, 234 aircraft [value, $24 billion]. In March 2013, Europe's Airbus signed a 18.4-billion-euro deal ($24 billion) with low-cost Indonesian carrier Lion Air for 234 single-aisle passenger planes. Till them it was the biggest for Airbus in terms of the number of aircraft and the overall sum.

flydubai, 225 aircraft [value, $27 billion]. Dubai-based flydubai announced a commitment to a $27 billion order for 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to support the growth of its fleet. The aircraft order, announced on November 15, 2017, was the third placed by the airline with Boeing in its eight-year history and follows orders placed in 2008 and 2013. This new aircraft order will support its continued expansion within a geographic area that is home to 2.5 billion people.

AirAsia, 200 aircraft: The low-cost carrier announced its order for Airbus 200 A320neos on June 23, 2011, bolstering its narrow-body fleet to 375 aircraft. It will need at least 125 more aircraft as it works on establishing at least two more joint venture carriers. Till then, it was the largest-ever single order placed with Airbus in terms of number of aircraft till then, and was slated for delivery from 2016 to 2026.

VietJet, 200 aircraft [value, $35 billion]: On July 20, 2022, Vietjet and Boeing signed a deal for 200 aircraft as part of airline’s global strategy. The deal calls on both sides to execute a flexible aircraft delivery schedule to support Vietjet’s growth plans as traffic across the world continues to recover. The first 50 aircraft will be delivered to Thai Vietjet, an affiliate company of Vietjet in Thailand. Thai Vietjet is currently one of the leading domestic airlines in Thailand. Bloomberg estimated the value of the deal at around $35 billion, including associated engine engineering services, and would bring around 200,000 jobs to the US.