New Delhi:
The country’s largest airline, IndiGo, which is “back with a bang”, aims to launch flights to Nairobi, Jakarta and some Central Asian destinations as the airline focuses on internationalization, chief Pieter Elbers said.
Amid increasing competition and Air India poised for expansion with huge aircraft orders, the IndiGo chief claimed that there is a lot of growth ahead in the Indian market that “justifies multiple airlines”.
“There is a lot going on in the Indian aviation landscape… The fact that Indian aviation is entering the next phase, including the consolidation taking place under the Air India group, is a natural evolution of the market.
“I look at the competition. It’s good to have competition, but it will be competition that goes hand in hand with the growth of the market,” Elbers told PTI in an interview here.
IndiGo, which has more than 300 aircraft in its fleet, currently flies to 76 domestic and 26 international destinations. Flights to two more domestic destinations – Nashik and Dharamshala – have also been announced.
According to him, the Indian aviation market, which is very vibrant and dynamic, is recovering very strongly.
“IndiGo is back with a bang,” Elbers said, adding that India’s economic growth is propelling IndiGo forward and IndiGo’s network further fuels local economic growth.
The airline operates about 1,800 daily flights, and in terms of current seat offerings, it’s about 80 percent domestic and 20 percent international.
“We will probably introduce new flights to Nairobi (Kenya) and Jakarta (Indonesia) next summer. We are looking at some destinations in Central Asia, but that is not decided yet… Internationalization is high on our agenda.” ‘ said Elbers.
He further noted that Nairobi and Jakarta are two key points to connect with tourism, business and Indian diaspora. “So, all that put together, we have a great proposition.”
“With India’s continued growth and India’s position coupled with our capacity even more as XLRs come in, we are very ambitious to create more international connectivity. A significant portion of (international travel by Indians) today is made by international carriers For us as Indian carriers, we can have a higher share,” the IndiGo chief said.
For the three months ended December 2022, IndiGo reported a strong increase in profit of Rs 1,422.6 crore and the highest ever total quarterly income of Rs 15,410.2 crore as travel demand remained strong.
The budget airline carried 2.23 crore passengers in the December quarter and its domestic market share in 2022 was 56.1 percent.
In launching operations with wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft, the IndiGo chief pointed out that this was the first step arising from the need for capacity.
“The market is growing and we were faced with the supply chain situation, we really needed capacity. The flight has been there for two weeks and we see a very positive response from the market. Codeshares placed outside of Istanbul are working very well.” he said.
On wet lease from Turkish Airlines, IndiGo started operating the B777 aircraft on the Delhi-Istanbul route from February 1. The aircraft has a capacity of 400 passengers in economy and business class.
Without giving specific details about the aircraft’s situation on the ground (AOG), the IndiGo chief said it is “essentially a stable situation.”
“We’ve stabilized the supply chain situation and we’re talking to suppliers to deal with it properly. We’ve extended the leases, we’ve got the wet lease… we’ll have capacity for the total fiscal year 2023 that is very in line with the original plan,” he said.
The supply chain issues have impacted the aviation industry globally, leading to delays in aircraft delivery.
Elbers also tried to highlight that IndiGo operates nearly 1,800 flights a day and widebody flights are one of them.
On the airline’s future plans for wide-body aircraft, Elbers said it has always kept the option of wide-body aircraft open, but did not disclose specific details.
“IndiGo has never ruled out an option. We have a significant order book. We have almost 500 aircraft on order… we have a steady stream of deliveries coming in. Our focus and emphasis will be on that part. of operations for IndiGo continues to expand,” he said.
The airline has placed an order with Airbus for A321XLR aircraft, which will have extended range, and these aircraft are expected to arrive in 2024-25, depending on the aircraft manufacturer’s delivery schedule.
When asked if it is possible that IndiGo will convert some of the ordered aircraft to wide-body, Elbers said the focus of the aircraft order is to serve the current network.
While noting that the airline continued to optimize its products, he said it consistently assesses what is happening in the market and emphasized the three customer promises.
“All of these elements come from additional compromises that have to be made and for us to continue on the path of affordable rates is a very, very important part,” said Elbers. PTI RAM ANU ANU
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