Now Reading: IndiGo marks 20 years as India’s largest airline
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IndiGo marks 20 years as India’s largest airline
Twenty years after its maiden flight, a New Delhi-Guwahati service routed through Imphal on 4 August 2006, IndiGo has grown from a regional startup into the dominant force in Indian aviation, a…
Twenty years after its maiden flight, a New Delhi-Guwahati service routed through Imphal on 4 August 2006, IndiGo has grown from a regional startup into the dominant force in Indian aviation, a Hindustan Times anniversary column recounts. Along the way it pushed into international flying in 2011, went public in 2015, and picked up a decisive edge when rival Jet Airways folded in 2019, propelling it past half the domestic market. It later recovered from pandemic losses of about ₹12,000 crore and returned to profit. At the 20-year mark the carrier flew 430 aircraft, with upward of 500 more on order, reached 140 destinations, employed about 68,000 people and held over 65% of the domestic market. Its board has now signed off on 60 Airbus A350 jets, with the option to add 40 further, under chief executive Willie Walsh.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The piece is a 20-year retrospective written with admiration: it credits the founding team by name, says nothing can take away the credit for what was built, and calls the most hated airline label a tag IndiGo had done little to deserve. The figures it carries, 430 aircraft, 140 destinations and over 65% of the domestic market, describe a home-market position rather than a long-haul one. The Jet Airways shutdown in April 2019 and the roughly ₹12,000 crore of pandemic losses show how quickly that position has moved before. The 60 A350s the board has approved, with options for 40 more, are what the long-haul plan now rests on.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
