Indian budget carrier had taken six aircraft from Scandinavian operator to kick-start long-haul expansion.
One of the six Norse Atlantic Boeing 787-9s being wet-leased by Indian budget carrier IndiGo is being returned early, owing to a network change.
Norse had wet-leased six 787s — half its fleet — to IndiGo after adopting a different business model, combining airline operations and wet-lease, to help offset seasonal fluctuations in its scheduled network.
But Norse says it has been formally notified that IndiGo is returning one of the jets at the end of August this year owing to closure of its services to Manchester.
IndiGo states that longer flight times resulting from airspace constraints, combined with “dramatically escalating costs”, have forced it to axe the route.
Senior vice-president for network planning Abhijit Dasgupta says the decision is “unfortunate”, given that the 787 lease was intended to “fast-track” connections to “high-potential long-haul destinations”.
“The response and support for these services have reinforced our belief in the opportunity for IndiGo’s long-haul ambitions, and we are convinced that this discontinuation is temporary,” Dasgupta adds.
IndiGo indicates it will restart to the service once it returns to being economically viable.
Norse Atlantic points out that IndiGo will continue to operate its five other leased 787s.
The returned aircraft will be redeployed on routes to Thailand from Europe over the 2026-27 winter season.
Norse chief Eivind Roald says the Thai routes are “successful and profitable”.
“We also continue to strengthen our strong partnership with IndiGo and have jointly initiated a strategic collaboration project to assess new and deeper co-operation,” he adds.
The post IndiGo surrenders one of its leased Norse 787s after Manchester route closure first appeared on FlightGlobal.