By John Flett
India’s largest domestic airline IndiGo has posted a record net profit for the first quarter of the airline’s 2023-24 financial year, 01 Apr – 30 Jun Pieter Elbers, the airline’s chief executive officer, said: “That very positive momentum from the last two quarters has also continued in this quarter as we started the new year on a strong note and reported the highest-ever quarterly revenue of 171.6 billion rupees ($2.07 billion) and the highest ever quarterly net profit of 30.9 billion rupees ($373 million).”
Earlier Mr. Elbers referenced the carrier’s performance in the previous financial year as ‘a distinct period of two halves’ whereby the airline turned around a loss in the first half to declare a profit in the second. IndiGo carried a record 26.2 million passengers in a reporting period that had a significant number of strategic announcements for the carrier.
The reporting quarter also saw the airline layout further strategic fleet plans for the future in June. At the Paris Air Show, the largest single aircraft order with Airbus was announced with IndiGo placing a 500-aircraft order of A320 family aircraft. “This order speaks to the growth and the future of Indian aviation where we are proud to play a pivotal role,” said Mr Elbers.
“We already had previous orders totaling around 480 aircraft which are yet to be delivered between today and the end of this decade. With this additional order of 500 aircraft, our outstanding order book has now almost 1,000 aircraft,” Elbers added. “These 1,000 aircraft will help IndiGo to move forward, to make sure that we live up to our promise and continue to build our unparalleled network both domestic and international.”
IndiGo’s network continued to grow during the quarter with the airline’s 79th domestic destination added. The carrier also took steps to increase its international reach with a codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines to the United States. The codeshare flights operating through Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul hub give IndiGo the ability to offer connectivity to major cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington D.C.
Vinay Malhotra, IndiGo’s Head of Global Sales, stated: “We are thrilled to expand our codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines, for the first time across the Atlantic to the United States of America. By offering seamless travel experiences at affordable fares, we aim to create more opportunities for Indian travelers to discover and connect with these exceptional destinations. These connections will not only support the burgeoning trade and commerce between the countries but also offer increased options to students and tourists alike. This expansion reinforces our vision to strengthen international reach while offering on-time performance, and hassle-free service across our unparalleled network.”
Elbers added: “We are also leveraging on the massive opportunity in the five to six-hour flying radius from India and we have recently announced six new destinations across Asia and Africa. In the coming few days, we are starting operations to Nairobi, Jakarta, Tbilisi and Baku. Further, in the coming few weeks, we will start operations to Tashkent and Almaty.”
During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team that created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, balancing a mix of corporate and social content.
John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a Masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. He has been the course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university and a member of Heathrow Community Trust’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.
John is currently living in Canada and is contracted as an external instructor for aviation-related organizations.
