Tag Archives: IndiGo

IndiGo places major order for Airbus A350s

 

Indian carriers currently rely on domestic passengers for 80% of their business, with only 20% coming from overseas, indicating a need for rebalancing. Analysts anticipate that IndiGo will emerge as a significant player in the long and ultra-long haul segments, aiming to address this imbalance.

The decision to enter the long-haul market follows years of contemplation, beginning as early as 2018. IndiGo explored various options, including the Airbus A330 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner, before ultimately selecting the A350-900.

IndiGo’s choice of the A350 was influenced by its compatibility with the existing fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. A common cockpit design facilitates pilot training, allowing existing pilots to transition to the A350 with minimal additional training. Similarly, engineers can undergo expedited training to work on the A350, leveraging their experience with IndiGo’s current fleet.

The A350 aircraft chosen by IndiGo will be equipped with Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engine. Ewen McDonald, CCO, Rolls-Royce, emphasised the importance of the Indian market, expressing optimism about future growth and infrastructure developments in air travel.

InterGlobe partners with Archer Aviation for starting electric air taxis in India

InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company IndiGo, and US-based Archer Aviation will launch an all-electric air taxi service in India in 2026, that will carry passengers from Connaught Place in the national capital to Gurugram in Haryana in just 7 minutes.

Archer Aviation will supply 200 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can carry four passengers besides a pilot and operate just like helicopters but with lesser noise and better safety.

Besides Delhi, the joint venture between InterGlobe and Archer Aviation will launch similar services in Mumbai and Bengaluru to start with. The cost of the seven-minute flight operated with the company’s five-seater eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft from Connaught Place to Gurugram in Haryana could be around INR 2,000 to 3,000, according to Archer Aviation executives.

Archer Aviation Founder and CEO Founder & CEO Adam Goldstein said discussions are going on with the US regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the certification process for its aircraft is at an advanced stage. The certification is expected next year and once that is in place, the process will be initiated for the certification by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In an interview with PTI in the national capital, Goldstein said the company expects to start flights in India in 2026 and aims to have 200 of its Midnight planes for the operations. Initially, Archer Aviation will be focusing on Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. With its flight, the duration will be around 7 minutes from Connaught Place in Delhi to Gurugram and the cost could be INR 2,000 to 3,000.

In a car, for the 27-kilometre distance, it would take around 90 minutes and the cost would be about INR 1,500, according to Goldstein. The five-seater Midnight aircraft will be able to accommodate the pilot and four passengers. The plane, which will have six battery packs, will get fully charged in 30-40 minutes and one minute charge broadly translates to one minute of flight, its Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel said.

Archer Aviation will be having a joint venture with InterGlobe Enterprises and the final contours are being worked out. The US company is also in discussions with various municipalities with respect to infrastructure and other aspects of the flight operations. Goel said it will use the full strength of InterGlobe, which is a conglomerate, and the joint venture might choose partners for the eVTOL operations in India. Discussions are also going on with respect to the real estate space required for vertiports or the launchpads and other infrastructure for starting the flight operations.

Archer Aviation will be opening its manufacturing facility in the US this year and initially, it will have a capacity to produce up to 650 planes and the same will be enhanced to 2,000 planes. To a query on whether the company will be looking at manufacturing the planes in India in the future, Goldstein replied in the affirmative.

 

India is becoming a convenient hub for travel between SE Asia & Middle East: IndiGo

India is slowly becoming a convenient hub for travel between Southeast Asia and the Middle East as airlines prefer to transfer people by connecting through Indian cities, a top industry official said.

There is huge growth in India and many domestic routes are used by airlines for connectivity, V Sumantran, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo Airlines) said in Chennai.

Delivering his address at the 65th Institute Day of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, he said that IndiGo started off as a low-cost airline in 2006 and has made the largest single order in the aviation industry by ordering 500 aircraft in France.

“India needed an airline that will provide affordable travel for many of us and the net result we can see. Even now we see India really moving forward with a lot more speed on infrastructure development. We have about 140 operating airports now and that would become 220 by 2030. We are seeing a huge increase in regional travel,” Sumantran, an IIT-Madras alumni, said.

IndiGo is a very young airline by global airline standards. But the entire platform of IndiGo has been affordable fares, courteous service, on-time performance, and a “very well networked” route system which India needed, he said.

Citing an example that a lot of airlines were transferring people from places like Bangkok via India to reach Jeddah or Dubai in the Middle East by connecting through Indian cities, he said, “India is slowly becoming a convenient hub for travel between South East Asia and the Middle East.”

“So, there is huge growth that we can see coming out of this which has boldly allowed us to place an order of 500 aircraft that is the single largest aircraft order ever made in aviation history,” he said.

Maintaining that IndiGo has the largest network of women pilots in the world, he said the amount of carbon dioxide emission per-seat-per-kilometer was also the lowest in the world by the airline.

“We (IndiGo) now find ourselves as the third most valuable airline in the world, after Ryan Air and Delta (Air Lines). We were able to earn our place among the biggest and most valuable airlines in the world. The message here is India can offer lessons on how to grow with responsibility — achieve more with less and secondly, well before 2047, many of our enterprises can be globally successful,” he said. (PTI)

IndiGo connects Chennai and Durgapur with new direct flights starting May 16th

 

IndiGo announced on Friday its plans to launch direct flights from Chennai to Durgapur in West Bengal starting May 16. Additionally, the airline will resume operations on the Chennai-Bangkok route from May 15.

According to a statement by IndiGo, the connectivity between Chennai and Bangkok, as well as Durgapur, will offer both business and leisure travellers increased flight options, contributing to economic growth in the region.

With the inclusion of Chennai, IndiGo now operates 28 weekly flights from Durgapur to major metro cities. This new service will provide travellers from Durgapur, West Bengal, with more choices to connect to other domestic and international destinations via Chennai.

Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo, expressed satisfaction with the new routes, stating, “We are pleased to announce the launch of direct flights between Chennai and Durgapur, as well as the resumption of direct flights between Chennai and Bangkok. The enhanced accessibility and connectivity provided by these flights will not only strengthen regional and international connectivity but also create new trade and tourism opportunities.”

Malhotra further highlighted IndiGo’s commitment to providing affordable, punctual, courteous, and hassle-free travel experiences across an extensive network. He noted that with these new flights, IndiGo now operates 69 direct flights to Thailand from seven cities in India.

India’s domestic airlines carry 133.68 passengers in March

Domestic airlines carried 133.68 lakh passengers in March, an increase of nearly 3.7% on an annual basis, according to official data released on Monday.

In March 2023, domestic air traffic stood at 128.93 lakh and the count stood at 126.48 lakh in February this year.
In terms of On Time Performance (OTP), Akasa Air topped the list at 84.5%, followed by AIX Connect (83 per cent), IndiGo (81.3%), Vistara (76.6%), Air India (71.9%) and SpiceJet (63.6%).

Alliance Air’s OTP was the lowest at 48.6%, according to the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The OTP of scheduled domestic airlines is computed for four metro airports — Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, IndiGo’s market share rose to 60.5% in March while that of Air India increased to 13.1%.

The market share of Vistara dropped to 9.6% whereas that of SpiceJet inched up to 5.3%.

However, Akasa Air’s market share slipped marginally to 4.4% and AIX Connect’s declined to 5.8%.

In March, more than 2 lakh passengers were affected by flight delays while cancellations impacted 23,675 passengers.

As many as 943 passengers were denied boarding.

“Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January – March 2024 were 391.46 lakhs as against 375.04 lakhs during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 4.38% and monthly growth of 3.68%,” the regulator said.

(Source: PTI)

Chennai Airport launches Self-service baggage drop option

 

Chennai Airport now has its first set of self-service baggage drop facilities available for air passengers flying with IndiGo airline.

According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), eight self-service baggage drop kiosks have been installed at one of the domestic terminals (T1). IndiGo, which manages about 60% of the air passengers at Chennai Airport, operates four of these kiosks at counters 60-63.

The trial run with these kiosks went smoothly, leading to their official launch. The remaining kiosks in the terminal can be used by other airlines like Akasa and SpiceJet once they integrate their systems with the facility.

Many frequent and first-time flyers have started using the facility in the past week. About 100-125 people are using the self-service kiosks daily, particularly those who6 prefer to avoid queues. Staff are stationed near the kiosks to help passengers drop off their baggage. Passengers who stay within the baggage weight limit can easily use the facility.

Eight more kiosks will be installed in the other domestic terminal (T4) within two months.