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IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers believes India is the most competitive market in the world and he sees a lot of room for Indian carriers to utilise the bilateral traffic rights in many countries. NSE “We are going to double in size..
.India is the most competitive market in the world. Value-conscious consumers are in every market segment and we have to cater to them.
If you can address the Indian market, which is cost-conscious and value-conscious, we should be able to compete globally,” he told CNBC-TV18 at the Global Leadership Summit in Mumbai on November 14. IndiGo, which operates over 2,000 daily flights to 122 destinations — 88 domestic and 34 international with a fleet of over 382 aircraft (as of October 2024) — wants to fly 200 million people a year in five years, Elbers said. He said that the airline serves 350,000 customers daily of which 95% are Indians.
“We have an opportunity to build in India for the world. The aspiration is to add more international flights.” Reflecting on the outlook for India, he said for way too long, Indian aviation has been outsourced.
While India has the world’s seventh-largest airline, it is not the world’s seventh-largest aviation brand. He is of the view that there is a lot of room available for Indian carriers to fully utilise the bilateral traffic rights in many countries. “Thailand is opening up borders.
It has made visas easier for Indians — and is seeing tourists coming in. There is enormous potential for Indians to travel and for foreigners to come into India." IndiGo CEO believes India should have airlines that match the size, scale and potential of the country.
“Creating large airlines through consolidation is happening in India like it’s happening everywhere in the world.” He also highlighted that IndiGo’s first flight with business class seats began this morning after 18 years since its establishment in 2006. India’s debut business class flights are to operate on the highly popular Delhi-Mumbai route and the airline plans to conduct six daily flights.
Each of these flights will feature 12 business class seats, totalling 72 business class seats across the six flights daily. IndiGo has set a flat fare of ₹18,018 for all business class seats, positioning itself competitively in the market..
