Indian airline IndiGo looks to expand network with Airbus A321XLRs addition: CEO

India’s leading airline IndiGo, which now flies to 11 GCC destinations including Doha with 386 weekly services, is committed to providing “on-time, hassle-free and affordable” travel experience to passengers, said CEO Pieter Elbers.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of IATA’s Annual General Meeting in Istanbul, Elbers said IndiGo now flies, besides Doha, to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dammam, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Sharjah and Muscat.
As to why some of the high-demand routes like Thiruvananthapuram in South India had been dropped (from Doha) by IndiGo, Elbers told Gulf Times, “We try to optimise our schedules. And some of these routes and bilateral agreements are based on seat numbers. So, if you add a bigger aircraft in one route, you may have to drop another route. So, we are constantly optimising our network and making sure that we can meet demand in various areas. In the overall optimisation, we sometimes trade off a specific route versus large aircraft.”
Asked whether there are plans to add business class cabin in IndiGo, he said, “Today, we are happy with the product we have. We have on order Airbus A321XLRs (which are long range). The moment A321XLRs come in, we will be able to further expand our network. We will be able to fly further into Europe and other places in Asia.”
He also told Gulf Times that IndiGo has no “immediate plans” to join any airline alliance.
“We have partnerships with different airlines. For example, we work with Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Qantas, Air France – KLM and Virgin. We work with different types of airlines...depending on where it is mutually beneficial and where it serves the need of the two airlines.
“In that context and again with India’s geographical position, it makes perfect sense to work with different partners on different routes. Some of them are Star, some of them are oneworld and some of them are SkyTeam. So, if your home is the largest country in terms of population, why should we restrict ourselves to one alliance?”
Elbers, the former president and CEO of Dutch flag carrier KLM, said IndiGo aimed to carry 100mn passengers in the year ending March 2024, as the carrier adds more domestic and international routes.
The carrier flew 86mn passengers in the financial year FY23. And as on May 21 this year, the airline served 300,000 customers a day.
Elbers said the airline expects to have around 350 planes in its fleet by the end of this fiscal (FY24). Currently, the carrier has more than 300 aircraft.
Currently, IndiGo is India’s largest airline with more than 57% domestic market share.
To a query on bilateral flying rights, Elbers said it is up to the government to decide on whether to give more rights or not. It requires a “tailor-made approach,” he added.