United Airlines, Air Canada, US Airways, and Air Sahara were Ronojoy Dutta’s stamping grounds, before IndiGo. Since then, it hasn’t been clear blue skies for the man. He now sees tailwinds emerging.
Even as the Tata group doubles down on its aviation bets, IndiGo is also preparing ground for its next stage of growth. It’s on a mission to build the best airline system for India, says its CEO.
With free cash reserves of over ₹9,000 crore, the airline has decided to pay heed to the government’s wish of not reducing pay for employees during the lockdown; it had announced pay cuts earlier.
The airline’s CEO Ronojoy Dutta is taking a 25% cut in salary, while all other employees will have to take a pay cut ranging between 5% and 20%; Employees in bands A and B are exempted.
Better ticket yields, higher passenger growth, and lower fuel costs helped the airline post a profit of ₹496 crore compared to a loss of over ₹1,000 crore in the previous quarter.
Higher aircraft maintenance costs, employee expenses, and mark-to-market losses on capitalised operating leases drag the airline further into the red in a seasonally weak travel period.
IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta issued a statement to dispel speculations over a possible rift between the airline’s two co-founders. But, he did allude to the fact that there were differences.
Given IndiGo’s market domination, the reported rift between Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatia, the billionaire co-founders of the airline, could have an adverse impact on the Indian aviation industry.
