According to persons acquainted with the situation, IndiGo is considering buying widebody aircraft. This would increase the budget carrier's international reach and heighten its rivalry with Air India Ltd.

Although the airline is still debating its options, the most likely option, according to those who asked to remain anonymous because the information isn't available to the public, is to acquire roughly 30 Airbus SE A350s. The individuals cautioned that IndiGo might still decide to change its mind on the number of planes and the time and that a decision could be published in the coming weeks.

To reach the expanding number of wealthy Indians travelling farther afield to locations like the UK and Europe, IndiGo has often flirted with the idea of launching long-haul flights. The low-cost airline has mostly developed its fleet on single-aisle aircraft, nearly all of which are Airbus models, and it now operates two Boeing Co. 777s that it leased from Turkish Airlines to Istanbul.

After placing a record-breaking order for 500 A320neo family aircraft last summer, the airline has already grown to become one of Airbus's top clients. Currently, IndiGo has about 1,000 planes in backorder. Airbus and Indigo representatives declined to comment.

Since its founding in 2005, IndiGo has grown to offer more than 2,000 daily flights to 118 destinations. It joined the select group of airlines that carry over 100 million passengers annually in 2023, and it intends to double that figure by the end of the decade.

For low-cost airlines, expanding into long-haul operations is not without danger. Previously, carriers such as WOW Air, AirAsia X, and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA have faced difficulties in proving their business rationale.