IndiGo
Indian low-cost airline From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.[5] It is the largest airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 63.6% domestic market share as of November 2024.[6] It is the second largest Asian airline,[citation needed] and one of the largest in the world in terms of passengers carried, with more than 100 million passengers carried in 2023. As of April 2025[update], IndiGo operates over 2,200 daily flights to 128 destinations – 91 domestic and 37 international.[7][8][9] It operates cargo services under its subsidiary, IndiGo CarGo.[1] Its primary hub is at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
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The airline was established as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises—an Indian multinational conglomerate based in Gurugram—[10] and Rakesh Gangwal in 2005. It took delivery of its maiden aircraft in July 2006 and commenced operations a month later, on 4 August 2006.[11] The airline became the largest Indian carrier by passenger market share in December 2012.[12] The company went public in October 2015.[13] IndiGo was ranked the 15th most punctual airline globally in 2022 by OAG.[14] It is also the 6th busiest airline in the world, as per data from RadarBox.[9]
History
Summarize
Perspective
IndiGo was founded in 2005 as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises and Rakesh Gangwal, a United States–based expatriate Indian.[15] InterGlobe had a 51.12% stake in IndiGo, while 47.88% was held by Gangwal's Virginia-based company, Caelum Investments.[16][17] IndiGo placed a firm order for 100 Airbus A320-200 aircraft in June 2005 with plans to begin operations in mid 2006.[18] The airline took delivery of its first aircraft on 28 July 2006, nearly a year after placing the initial order.[19] It commenced operations on 4 August 2006 with a service from New Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati.[20] By the end of 2006, the airline had six aircraft, and nine more were acquired in 2007.[20] In December 2010, IndiGo replaced state-run carrier Air India as the third largest airline in India, behind Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways with a passenger market share of 17.3%.[21]
In 2011, IndiGo placed an order for 180 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth US$15 billion.[22] In January 2011, after completing five years of operations, the airline was permitted to launch international flights.[23] In December 2011, the DGCA expressed reservations that the rapid expansion could impact passenger safety.[24]
In February 2012, IndiGo took delivery of its 50th aircraft, less than six years after it began operations.[25] For the quarter ending March 2012, IndiGo was the most profitable airline in India and became the second largest airline in India in terms of passenger market share.[26] On 17 August 2012, IndiGo became the largest airline in India in terms of market share surpassing Jet Airways, six years after commencing operations.[27]
In January 2013, IndiGo was the second-fastest-growing low-cost carrier in Asia behind Indonesian airline Lion Air.[28] In February 2013, following the announcement of the Civil Aviation Ministry that it would allow IndiGo to take delivery of only five aircraft that year, the airline planned to introduce low-cost regional flights by setting up a subsidiary. Later, IndiGo announced that it planned to seek permission from the ministry to acquire four more aircraft, therefore taking delivery of nine aircraft in 2013.[29] By March 2014, IndiGo was the second-largest low-cost carrier in Asia in terms of seats flown.[30]
In August 2015, IndiGo placed an order for 250 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth $27 billion, making it the largest single order ever in Airbus history.[31] It announced a ₹3,018 crore (equivalent to ₹36 billion or US$410 million in 2023) initial public offering on 19 October 2015 which opened on 27 October 2015.[32][33][34]
In October 2019, IndiGo placed an order for 300 Airbus A320neo aircraft worth ₹2.3 lakh crore (US$27 billion), surpassing its own record of the largest single order ever in Airbus history.[35][36] In December 2019, the airline became the first Indian airline to operate 1,500 daily flights.[37] On 31 December 2019, it became India's first airline to have a fleet size of more than 250 aircraft.[38]
In January 2023, the airline became the first Indian airline to have a fleet size of more than 300 aircraft.[39] In February 2023, the airline inducted its first wide-body aircraft, a wet-leased Boeing 777-300ER to its fleet.[40] In June 2023, the airline placed an order for 500 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, making it the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history.[41] As of November 2023, IndiGo had a 61.8% domestic market share.[42] In December 2023, IndiGo became the first Indian airline to have ferried more than 100 million passengers in a calendar year.[43] In April 2024, it formally entered the wide-body space by placing an order of 30 A350-900s, with 70 options.[44] The delivery of these aircraft will commence in 2027.
Corporate affairs
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IndiGo is headquartered in Gurgaon, India.[45] The company is publicly listed under the moniker NSE: INDIGO.[46]
Logo and livery
Twenty dots arranged in the shape of an aircraft serves as the logo of the airline.[47] The airline uses a two tone blue livery on a white background with the belly of the aircraft painted in indigo with the logo in white.[48] The flight attendants wear a single-piece navy-blue tunic with a cap and a thin indigo belt.[49] The airline has the tagline on-time focusing on punctuality.[49]
Financials
Operations
Summarize
Perspective
IndiGo became one of the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the world and the largest airline in India.[28] The success of IndiGo has been attributed to its unique business model which reduces costs.[26] The airline operates a single type of aircraft, the Airbus A320 family, in similar seating configuration which simplifies crew training and maintenance.[26] The airline strikes bulk deals with Airbus, reducing unit costs.[26] The airline targets a quick turn-around time of 20 minutes to get the aircraft ready for the next flight, ensuring planes fly about 12 hours every day.[58] Employees share multiple roles with a check-in staff doubling as baggage handlers.[58] In July 2023, Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation imposed a ₹30 lakh (US$35,000) fine on IndiGo for certain systemic deficiencies concerning documentation pertaining to operations, training, and engineering procedures.[59] Also, in March 2025, the Income Tax department imposed a penalty of ₹944.20 crore (US$110 million) on InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of IndiGo, for the assessment year 2021-22.[60]
| Particulars | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 12,362 | 14,604 | 18,060 | 23,531 | 27,812 | 23,711 | 26,164 | 32,407 |
| Passengers (mn)[61] | 33 | 44 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 29 | 47 | 85 |
| Load factor (%) | 84.0 | 84.8 | 87.4 | 86.2 | 85.8 | 69.4 | 73.6 | 82.1 |
| Fleet size | 107 | 131 | 159 | 217 | 262 | 285 | 275 | 304 |
| CO2 emissions (g) per ASK | 74.6[62] | 72.0 | 70.0 | 64.7 | 61.1 | 59.5 |
Destinations
Summarize
Perspective
As of April 2025[update], IndiGo operates more than 2,200 daily flights to 128 destinations, 91 in India and 37 abroad.[9][64][65][7][8] Its main base is located at Delhi,[66] with additional bases at Bengaluru,[67] Chennai,[68] Hyderabad,[69] Kolkata,[68] Mumbai,[68] and Kochi.[70] In January 2011, IndiGo received a license to operate international flights after completing five years of operations.[71] IndiGo's first international service was launched between New Delhi and Dubai on 1 September 2011.[72][73] The airline announced that it will expand its international destinations to Bishkek, Siem Reap, among many others in Southeast & Central Asia and Eastern Africa, in order to further solidify global presence. It is also requesting for slots in Amsterdam, London, Manchester, Paris and other European cities, as part of its expansion plan.[74][75]
Codeshare agreements
IndiGo codeshares with the following airlines:
Fleet
As of April 2025[update], IndiGo operates a fleet of 406 aircraft.[85][failed verification] It is a majority-Airbus airline consisting of a diverse range of aircraft, from turboprop regional aircraft ATR 72-600, to narrow-body aircraft Airbus A320, Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo, to wide-body aircraft consisting of two wet-leased Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines.[86] IndiGo made a wet-lease agreement with Norse Atlantic for 4 Boeing 787s, with its first flight from 1 March 2025.[87] It has also wet-leased Boeing 737 MAX from Qatar Airways and Corendon Airlines, as well as the Airbus A320 from Smartlynx Airlines and Freebird Airlines, in order to meet the rapidly-growing demand and traffic and to cope up with mild aircraft groundings that lasted until December 2024.[88][89] Otherwise, its own upcoming wide-body type will consist of the Airbus A350-900 from 2027, with plans for more narrow-body aircraft orders to further expand its global outreach.[90][91]
IndiGo also has three Airbus A321 freighter variants as part of its dedicated subsidiary, IndiGo CarGo, for cargo operations.[92]
Services
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As a low-cost carrier, IndiGo solely offers economy class seating. To keep fares low, IndiGo does not provide complimentary meals in any of its flights. While it has a buy-on board in-flight meal programme, no hot meals are available as, to minimise costs, IndiGo aircraft are not equipped with ovens.[93][failed verification] However, hot drinks and instant meals prepared with hot water like instant noodles, upma and poha are available.[94] No in-flight entertainment is available; Hello 6E is the in-flight magazine published by IndiGo.[95] IndiGo offers premium services, where the passengers can avail additional benefits like a pre-assigned seat, multiple cancellations and priority check-in at a higher fare.[96] In September 2019, the company announced a tie-up with SonyLIV, an on-demand video app, to provide passengers with entertainment options aboard flights and at the airport.[97]
See also
References
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