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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The order of Airbus A350-900 wide-body aircraft puts in motion the most ambitious and riskiest project undertaken by the airline’s founder. As things stand, the odds are stacked against him.
Editor's note: Late last month, Rahul Bhatia-led IndiGo announced its order for 30 Airbus A350-900 wide-body aircraft, with plans to expand to 100 in the future. This is a first for the country’s largest airline, which till now had only narrow-body planes in its fleet.
Make no mistake about what IndiGo is attempting to do. The airline is already among the top 10 in the world when it comes to fleet and passengers carried. With the addition of wide-body aircraft to its fleet, IndiGo is revving up its international strategy. But does this addition, a sort of hybridization in a way, make sense? After all, nearly no low-cost airline in the world has ever had much success with a wide-body operation.
“This is an ambitious, arrogant and astounding move,” says an industry executive, who asked not to be named. “Ambitious because Bhatia didn’t need to do this as the airline is doing well and there is no threat for the current product. Arrogant because this is to show off IndiGo’s muscle power. And astounding because they believe they can pull it off. It’s a brave move.”
Nevertheless, IndiGo seems eager to take the risk.
The Manoj Chacko-led regional airline has had a promising start. Will the lessons of the past keep it on course while it expands?
The Tata Group’s silence and absence from Ahmedabad on the first anniversary of India’s worst air disaster risks putting a dent in its much-vaunted value system.
A drop in employee costs, despite the need to hire pilots under the new DGCA norms, raises fresh concerns about IndiGo’s staffing, and its vulnerability to a December 2025-scale disruption.
