IndiGo aims to double its network by 2030: CEO

The budget carrier has been facing supply chain issues but has taken steps to mitigate their impact on its operations, Elbers said. Edited excerpts:

The grounding of aircraft due to engine issues is a problem many airlines are facing. How are you working around it?

The aircraft on ground or the supply chain issue is under control for Indigo. Of course, our life would be much easier if it wasn’t there. But the reality is, it is there, I cannot wish it away. Indigo is taking measures. I think that we have done very effectively.

When so you expect the situation getting better?

I would find it difficult to step into the shoes of the supply chain itself. What I do feel comfortable about is that we are in constant interaction with them. We try to do it in the best possible way. So, it’s important that the situation gets better. But with the planes coming in, and the mitigating measures, I think we are in a good spot to deal with it.

How many old aircraft have you been inducted to handle the situation?

Currently, we have retained 14 older Airbus A320ceo planes, extended leases on 36 other aircraft and added 11 aircraft on a damp lease starting from November. We also have 2 damp leased wide body planes running on the Istanbul route. (A damp lease is where the lessor provides the cockpit crew and the lessee provides the cabin crew, maintenance and insurance.)

We will soon enter the summer peak travel season. Do you see any challenges in terms of capacity?

I think we are in a good position. We have organised our network in such a way that we’re able to do some of the new routes which we had announced earlier. So we have some route expansions. We have a new flight between Bangalore and Bali. Things that are important for us is that we are back to the 2,000 flights per day.

How does the demand scenario look like considering the groundings and the impact on fares?

We still see variations in the fares depending on the route, depending on the time of day. I would say it to be a part of the further maturing or further growth of the Indian economy and landscape. If you compare the scenario to some other parts of the world, be it Europe or be it the US, you see these variations and seasonal patterns are applying everywhere. You see them increasingly also applying in India, not uniquely, obviously, to aviation itself. It goes the same for hotels as well. I think it’s the nature of airlines to deal with those variations, and for consumers to decide whether they really want to travel on that specific day or they want to travel on another day.

Do you think that the current scenario would impact the growth of Indian aviation?

No, it does not negatively influence the growth of Indian aviation. It has cost effects and a few others but these are all manageable problems.

What are your international expansion plans?

For this year, we see a handful of new international destinations we haven’t disclosed yet. What’s important though is that we will be introducing some new routes as well. The XLR (from Airbus) is expected to arrive somewhere in 2025. We await guidance from Airbus. Clearly, it will help us to further expand the range that can bring us further up into North Asia, further towards Europe and places like Athens or Rome could be within reach.

Is IndiGo considering Airbus350 for long haul destinations?

We keep all options open. Our focus is on the XLR aircraft because it gives us a whole new range. We did not specify yet what’s going to be the exact configuration for the XLR, whether there’s going to be one or two classes.

What impact do you see due to the new flight duty time limitations on operations? What and how many pilots will you require to maintain your operations?

Every airline, on top of what is the regulatory framework, has an entire set of its own fatigue management or safety management systems. Indigo is very active in that part. Whatever we can do to increase safety as an airline is something we feel that we should do. When it comes specifically to new regulation, we’re still having some evaluations going on as to what’s going to be the precise impact depending on the precise setting and timings. I would find it a bit premature to give any precise numbers or any precise indications.

What are your growth plans?

We aspire to double in size towards the end of 2030. We aspire for early double-digit growth numbers. As we did last year, when we set north of the mid teens. We have now defined the growth for 2024-25 as the early double digits.

Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 will soon resume operations. Would you prefer to operate from a dedicated terminal?

Reopening of T1 is a much awaited and welcome change. In addition, the second airport, which will open later, will further give room and space to grow and it’s where words and vision are coming to life. Having a dedicated terminal is part of the discussions we are having with the airports. We collectively need to think big, how would the world look in five years and how we would look in 10 years. Some of the mega airports have a long-term vision for that. I think that is happening in India also. We are engaged in those types of discussions. I think it’s a bit too early to comment more than this because it all depends on what’s the capacity, the transfer time between terminals.