DELHI- India’s largest airline, IndiGo (6E) CEO Pieter Elbers at the CAPA Summit said, ‘IndiGo should not be labeled as a low-cost carrier (LCC) because it has implemented several initiatives uncommon for a typical LCC.’
“Is IndiGo a traditional LCC? We operate 20 daily flights between Delhi and Mumbai. Is that typical for an LCC? We offer a co-branded credit card. We have eight codeshare partners, and just two days ago, we signed a codeshare partnership with Japan Airlines. Is that what a traditional LCC does?” he remarked at the CAPA India Aviation Summit 2024.
IndiGo Not A LCC: CEO
A codeshare partnership allows airlines to sell seats on each other’s flights. IndiGo has codeshare agreements with nine airlines, including Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, American Airlines, Air France-KLM, and Qantas.
Elbers commented, “I believe we have moved beyond being a typical LCC if such a concept even exists. Given the uniqueness of India and IndiGo, I don’t think we need to be labeled in any specific way. India is a unique country and market, and IndiGo is a unique airline, evolving as it should.”
“All the developments you are seeing now, such as the introduction of the A321XLR and widebody aircraft, are part of this same strategy,” he added.
The airline while revealing a record $1 billion profit FY23-24 stated that it will introduce Business Class. Further, they will deploy them on the Busiest domestic and international routes.
New Routes with New Aircraft
The A321XLR is in the final stages of certification and has a longer range than typical narrowbody planes like the A320neo and Boeing 737.
Widebody planes have larger fuel tanks, enabling them to operate long-haul routes such as India-US and India-Europe.
After placing the world’s largest aircraft order for 500 A320neo family planes in June 2023 and another order for 30 A350 wide-body planes in April this year, IndiGo is reportedly in talks with ATR to acquire an additional 100 planes for its expanding regional operations.
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