Buoyed by the regaining of the top spot in on-time performance in November, IndiGo, India’s largest airline will ‘significantly’ increase flights and passenger numbers next year, its CEO Pieter Elbers said in a letter addressed to the company’s employees.
The expansion will emerge from both domestic and international sectors. “We’re significantly stepping up our flights and customer numbers. The recently announced codeshare with Turkish Airlines will bring us further into Europe enabling more international connectivity,” Elbers said.
Also Read: Indigo’s retains top spot in on-time performance
The announcement by the Dutch national who joined IndiGo four months ago from European heavyweight KLM comes at a time when rival Air India and its group airlines such as Vistara, will also expand their fleet through new lease agreements and deliveries of new planes.
On January 5, IndiGo will have the opening of its largest-ever station, the newly launched airport at Goa (Mopa) with 168 weekly flights to/from eight destinations. Elbers added that the company will work around the 3 pillars – Reassure, Develop and Create – in 2023.
Heightened competition with the entry of Akasa coupled with challenges on fleet management with regards to unavailability of engines and maintenance of planes, IndiGo marked a growth in its market share this year at 56.2% till November compared to 54.8% it clocked in 2021.
“It has been a year with challenges, changes, and also results for IndiGo,” Elbers said. About 30 of its planes are grounded for an unusually extended period due to supply chain disruptions.
Also Read: IndiGo seeks DGCA nod for wet-leasing wide-body Boeing jets
The company recently sought aviation regulator DGCA’s approval to wet lease Boeing 777 aircraft which will fly on the Delhi-Istanbul route. This will be the first wide-body aircraft to be inducted by the low-cost carrier. The company hopes to deploy its regular narrow body Airbus A320 and A321 on the domestic routes.
IndiGo has a fleet of more than 290 planes and operates more than 1600 daily flights. The airline connects 76 destinations in India and 26 international destinations. “The new frontiers are being achieved not only by new destinations but also by digital initiatives such as the use of RFID technology for life vests and the e-logbook for pilots,” Elbers added.
