India’s largest low-cost carrier, IndiGo, plans to dedicate 18 per cent of its total capacity to the international sector.
Currently, the airline flies four aircraft on the international sector, which is roughly eight per cent of current capacity.
“We think 15 to 18 per cent of the capacity should be in the international sector. By March, we would be a 55-aircraft fleet, and would be able to dedicate seven-eight aircraft exclusively to international operations, if the permissions come by then,” said IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh.
IndiGo, which secured the permission to fly to international destinations in September, operates five flights a day to Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Muscat and Kathmandu. The carrier is operating all its flights to these destinations with occupancy of over 80 per cent and hopes to remain profitable. “I hope we will remain profitable on all those routes,” Ghosh said, without commenting on the yields on these routes.
The Gurgaon-based carrier flies to 26 destinations in India and abroad, with 267 flights a day and had a market share of 19.8 per cent in November, second only to Jet Airways at 27.1 per cent. Jet Airways has a fleet of 101 aircraft, compared to IndiGo’s 49. IndiGo is the only Indian carrier to have been operating profitably. The combined losses of the three listed Indian carriers, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet, in the first half of FY11 stood at Rs 1,878 crore.
In the last financial year, the airline’s profit rose to Rs 650 crore from Rs 551 crore, the third straight year of profit for the carrier, which began operations in 2006. Market leader Jet Airways (India) Ltd recorded a loss of Rs 86 crore, compared with a year-ago loss of Rs 420 crore. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd recorded a loss of Rs 1,027.40 crore.
