IndiGo to fly on more international routes

New Delhi: IndiGo aims to double in size by 2030 with new domestic and international routes as well as destinations, its chief Pieter Elbers said as the airline pursues soaring global ambitions to match India's economic growth potential. The country's largest airline with a domestic market share of little over 60 per cent is also betting big on A321 XLR aircraft that are expected to be part of its fleet "somewhere in 2025", to further expand its overseas presence.

Seeking to consolidate as well as expand its position on the global scale, Elbers told in an interview that the next big jump for IndiGo will be to double its size by the end of the decade. For the next financial year starting April 2024, the IndiGo chief said the capacity guidance in terms of seat capacity is "early double digits" and one plane is coming in every week. Amid supply chain as well as Pratt & Whitney engine woes, Elbers also emphasised that the airline is taking a lot of mitigating measures that are bearing fruits, and that the Aircraft on Ground (AOG) situation is ‘stable’.

In February, the airline said the number of AOGs was in the mid-70s. Currently, the 17-year-old carrier operates to 88 domestic and 33 international destinations. It has a fleet of more than 360 planes. "An airline with double of today's size, global reach and footprint by the year 2030. That is the ambitious target...," Elbers said and added that more codeshare partnerships can be expected. At present, IndiGo has codeshares with Turkish Airways, British Airways, Qatar Airways, American Airline, KLM-AirFrance, Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin Atlantic. Codesharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to various destinations.