Indigo starting to make India a global aviation hub: CEO
Indigo, which placed its first-ever order for widebody planes last Thursday, is now on the path to establish itself as a global aviation player and make India a global aviation hub, said its
Chief Executive Officer, Pieter Elbers, on Tuesday.
“We have demonstrated over the years that we maintain a cost leadership (lowest unit cost in India). On top of that, we are exploring this opportunity, and we are taking a number (30 wide-body aircraft) which will be meaningful enough to have an impact yet prudent enough not to move into a direction where we may face some headwinds. That balance of being impactful enough and prudent enough is reflected in the order,” Elbers said during a conference with industry analysts.
He said that as Indigo is advancing towards “becoming a global aviation player,” it has forged an agreement with Airbus to procure 30 A350-900 aircraft. Additionally, the airline holds the option to order an additional 70 A350 family planes.
Indigo currently stands as India’s largest carrier, holding a fleet of approximately 370 planes, all of which are narrow-body aircraft.
Elbers said, “We have such a great network domestically. It is a great foundation in India. Today, we serve 88 domestic destinations.” Indigo connects major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru to 50 domestic destinations within the country.
“We are starting to grow. We are starting to build India into a global aviation hub and one of the characteristics of an aviation hub is that you are sitting on a strong (domestic) market, which Indigo clearly does, and has the opportunity to start connecting. We first gained experience with domestic connectivity, then recently, we moved to building domestic-to-international connectivity, and even more recently, we have started to develop international-to-international connectivity,” he noted.
We have such a great network domestically. It is a great foundation in India. Today, we serve 88 domestic destinations”