IndiGo evaluates options on adding premium class

Budget carrier IndiGo on Thursday said it is in the process of evaluating options after reports emerged that the airline may soon introduce premium class seats on some international routes.

"We are always in the process of evaluating options available. As a policy, we do not comment on speculations and will share any information if and when we have anything to share," the airline said in a statement.

This comes months after the low-cost carrier revamped its on-board catering service to "reduce wastage" and "improve service efficiency". IndiGo ditched packaged soft drinks and juices and started pouring drinks into paper cups. Also, it is now compulsory to buy a snack if a passenger wants a soft drink or beverage.

India's aviation market is incredibly competitive in terms of prices as value-conscious consumers are demanding and always up for a good deal, IndiGo chief executive officer Pieter Elbers had said in September.

IndiGo, Asia largest carrier in terms of capacity, placed the biggest-ever aircraft order with French aerospace giant Airbus at the Paris Air Show. IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation signed a deal to buy 500 Airbus A320 aircraft, which will give it a steady stream of deliveries between 2030 and 2035. The airline operates over 300 aircraft and has previous orders of 480 aircraft which are yet to be delivered. With this additional order of 500 aircraft for 2030-2035, IndiGo’s order book has almost 1,000 aircraft yet to be delivered well into the next decade. The airline's order book comprises a mix of A320neo, A321neo, and A321XLR aircraft.

IndiGo aims to double its size by the end of 2030, transforming it from a domestic carrier to a global aviation giant. The seventeen-year-old airline which started with a single flight on the Delhi-Guwahati route has one of the world’s youngest aircraft fleets. It is the seventh largest carrier in the world in terms of daily departures and flies over 3 lakh passengers a day to a network of over 100 destinations, including 32 international cities. It operates around 1,900 flights every day.

"Last year, we flew 86 million passengers. This year we expect to fly 100 million passengers. That may look like a lot of people. But we are aware of the number of people travelling by trains – a billion a year," Elbers said, adding that the aspiration to travel will continue to grow.

The airline reported a net profit of ₹188.9 crore for the July-September quarter of 2023-24 as compared to a net loss of ₹1,583.3 crore in the same quarter during the previous year. It had a total cash balance of ₹30,665.8 crore comprising ₹18,082.7 crore of free cash and ₹12,583.1 crore of restricted cash.