DALLAS — IndiGo (6E) CEO Pieter Elbers has said in an interview with PTI that the airline is "back with a bang." The CEO emphasized that they are looking to focus more on international routes.

The statement published by The Economic Times came amid competition from Air India (AI) after it committed to purchasing 470 aircraft. The 6E chief further highlighted that there is a lot of scope for growth for airlines as there is tremendous potential in the Indian aviation market.

CEO Insights

The 6E CEO Pieter Elbers told in an interview with PTI, "There is a lot going on in the Indian aviation industry… The fact that Indian aviation is getting into the next phase, including the coalition being done under the Air India group, is a natural development of the market."

"I look to the competition. It is good to have competition, but it will be a competition that goes hand-in-hand with the growth of the market," added Elbers, who added that India's economic advancement was actually helping 6E to move ahead and that the airline was persisting by playing its part towards boosting the growth of the country.

"We will likely introduce new getaways to Nairobi (Kenya) and Jakarta (Indonesia) this forthcoming summer. We are glancing at central Asia at a few destinations but that has not yet been determined… Internationalization is a big part of our plan," Elbers said.

While talking about its Airbus A321XLR planes, the CEO said, "With further growth in India and the position of India connected with our ability even more so when XLRs are coming in, we are very ambitious of devising more international connectivity. A significant part is taken by international airlines. For us as Indian carriers, we can have a more increased share."

Regarding the start of operations with the twin-aisle Boeing 777 aircraft leased from Turkish Airlines (TK), the 6E CEO indicated that it was the first step born out of the need for increased capacity.

When asked by a reporter about orders, CEO added, "IndiGo has never ruled out any option. We do have a significant order book. We have almost 500 aircraft on order… we have a steady stream of deliveries coming. Our focus and emphasis will be on that part. We do have the XLRs order that will further stretch the range of operations for IndiGo."

6E serves 102 destinations, 76 of which are domestic and 26 of which are international, with two new domestic destinations planned. With more than 300 aircraft in its fleet, it operates more than 1800 daily flights, with 80% of them being domestic.

Bottom Line

To conclude the 6E CEO's interview, in short, He emphasized expanding on international destinations, certainly targeting the African, Middle-East, and South and East Asian markets.

However, he also added that with more than 500 aircraft in the order book, the airline is likely to grow both its domestic and international network.

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Feature Image: IndiGo Airlines. Photo: Alberto Cucini

https://airwaysmag.com/air-india-commits-250-strong-airbus