We are not chasing market share, says IndiGo

The new market leader in the aviation industry would rather focus on expanding international flights and on core competencies such as on-time performance

Becoming the number one domestic airline is a big milestone for six-year-old IndiGo, but airline president Aditya Ghosh makes it clear that the carrier is not chasing market share. Instead IndiGo will continue to grow adding new planes expanding its international flights and focussing on its core competencies such as on-time performance.

Last month IndiGo, with a 27 percent market share, took over as India's largest domestic airline by passengers flown, ahead of Jet Airways which has a market share of 26.6 percent. The airline, which saw a passenger growth of 35-40 percent last year, flies over 1.5 million passengers each month.

Ghosh, the publicity-shy head of IndiGo, gave no press interviews on this feat. There wasn't a press statement either. So when asked for his reaction on becoming the number one airline at an Ernst & Young organised forum, Ghosh quipped, "In my business and possibly  many others market share is over-rated. Market share does not put food on table. A simple way of increasing market share is by dropping fares by Rs 500. All of India will be flying tomorrow and there will be one less airline in India in the next three months."

"My challenge is not market share but to be consistent with our goals -- on time performance and to have least number of  flight cancellations," he said. Excellence or high quality has nothing to do with red or blue carpets or whether your spectacles get cleaned," he remarked.

Speaking to media persons at the sidelines of the event Ghosh said IndiGo is well-capitalised and is not looking at raising funds. "Each airline has its own compulsions. We are not looking at investors, either domestic or foreign," he said. Ghosh said the airline will be inducting airbus A320s with sharklets on wings which will reduce fuel burn by one-to-two percent. The airline has 60 planes in the fleet at present.

He said the airline was awaiting for government approval to start new foreign flights from Chennai and Hyderanbad to Singapore and flights to South East Asia from Kolkata. "Our international routes are doing well and we have just added three new flights from Dubai.