IndiGo, currently India’s largest airline in terms of fleet size and passengers carried, is to broaden its international footprint further by expanding operations to seven new overseas destinations by the end of March 2025, according to the carrier’s CEO Pieter Elbers. The announcement comes in the same week that the airline opens reservations for its highly anticipated business class product which will begin flying later in 2024 and launches a loyalty scheme for the first time.
Speaking at a special event held in Delhi marking the airline’s 18th anniversary, Elbers said that in addition to the company adding direct flights to Jaffna in Sri Lanka, the remaining new international routes would be revealed over the coming months. Jaffna becomes the carrier’s second destination in Sri Lanka after the capital, Colombo, and when services start, will become the airline’s 122nd destination and 34th international gateway. Reservations for flights to Jaffna opened on August 1, 2024.
As the country’s most dominant operator, IndiGo currently enjoys almost 61% of India’s domestic market. According to ch-aviation, it currently operates a fleet of 388 aircraft (which includes 18 aircraft wet-leased from other carriers). Additionally, the airline has an order backlog of 260 A320neos, 390 A321neos, and almost 290 A321NX. The company also has 30 wide-bodied A350-900s on order to expand international and intercontinental services, all due for delivery from 2027, with options on a further 70 airframes.
In other news, the carrier has announced that bookings will open for its new business class product will open on August 6, 2024. The new cabin offering will initially be available on 12 domestic routes from Delhi before being rolled out elsewhere on its network. The move represents a shift in strategy by the carrier which is attempting to capitalize on the trend for higher net-worth individuals to travel more often by air.
Having been focused on remaining a low-cost carrier up until now, IndiGo unveiled its business class product at a launch event on August 5, 2024. To be known by the brand name ‘IndiGoStretch’, the new premium-class seats will sell from a starting price of 18,000 rupees ($215), announced Elbers. IndiGo is also set to launch a loyalty program (to be known as a ‘BluChip’) in September 2024 to coincide with commencing business class flights.
The move towards a two-class offering sets the stage for direct coemption with its largest domestic competitor, Tata-owned Air India/Vistara which operates as a full-service carrier. With India being one of the world’s fastest-growing airline markets, and with a domestic population of 1.4 billion people, IndiGo is maneuvering itself into a leading position to take full advantage of the spoils that the burgeoning market will present in the coming years.
