Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo has announced better-than-expected financial results for the second quarter of 2023 (Q2).
Buoyed by increasing demand for air travel across its core Indian domestic market, the airline has posted a net profit of $23 million for the period, following an established pattern of profitability the carrier has enjoyed over the past four quarters.
The results posted for the period ending September 2023 are particularly impressive, as in the same period last year, the airline posted a loss of $190 million. Even industry experts are likely to be surprised, given that their predictions for Q2 indicated that IndiGo would post a $240 million loss.
With these latest results, the airline is clearly on an upward trajectory. For Q4 of 2022/23, the airline posted profits of $110 million, and in Q1 of this year, it posted record quarterly profits of $373 million.
In other performance figures just announced by IndiGo, the carrier reported Q2 revenue earnings of $1.8 billion, an increase of 19.6% over the same period last year. Total network capacity rose by 27.7% over Q2 2022, and passenger numbers rose to 26.3 million, representing a rise of 33.4%. The airline’s passenger load factor increased to 83.3% – an increase of 4.1 percentage points.
Announcing IndiGo’s latest set of results, Peter Elbers, the airline’s CEO commented: “I am pleased to report yet another profitable quarter despite the seasonal fluctuations and external headwinds coming into play. With our clear strategy and focus on execution, we have completed a full cycle and remained profitable for the past four quarters. We continue to augment our network both domestically and internationally as we added 10 new destinations in the past few months, taking the total number of destinations to 115 as of today. My deepest gratitude to all 6E employees for their hard work, determination, and passion they bring to their roles in serving our loyal IndiGo customers.”
With demand for air travel continuing to rise across India and with one of the busiest periods in the year for travel fast approaching, IndiGo remains well-placed to benefit.
As India’s largest carrier with over 60% of the domestic market, the operator has further route expansion plans on its radar, both domestically and internationally.
The airline already operates to 85 destinations within India and to more than 30 international destinations using its fleet of 339 aircraft.
In the immediate future, IndiGo has retained 14 older Airbus A320ceo aircraft and extended leases on a further 36. The carrier is also expecting 11 additional aircraft on lease, with deliveries starting in November 2023, with a further 12 planes to follow sourced from the second-hand market.
While many of these aircraft will be used to continue the airline’s network expansion program, others are required to boost capacity amid the carrier’s ongoing woes with Pratt & Whitney engines that power its 144-strong Airbus A320neo fleet.
The airline has been forced to ground up to 40 of its A320neos in recent months following the detection of metal defects affecting certain engine components in the engine type globally.
The engine manufacturer is expecting to pull between 600 and 700 engines from aircraft to undergo detailed examination between the end of this year and 2026.