Lost cost or full service? Rahul Bhatia could pull a rabbit out of IndiGo's A350 hat
Lost cost or full service? Rahul Bhatia could pull a rabbit out of IndiGo’s A350 hat
NEW DELHI: Frugal IndiGo could spring a pleasant surprise for long haul passengers flying its wide body A350s whose induction begins in 2027. The airline has refrained from putting a “label” on the A350 service — whether low cost or full service — and could come up with a hybrid product. Most airlines of the either kind globally operating medium to ultra long hails anyway charge seperately for unbundled services like seat selection, baggage and onboard WiFi.
“India is changing rapidly. The country, its aspirations, today are very different from a decade ago (or 2006 when IndiGo launched its no frills service). Ten years down the line, will be different. Our A350 deliveries begin in 2027 and we will talk about the product offering close to then,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said Tuesday, adding he wouldn’t like to put a “label” on the same as yet.
The budget carrier, which is now among the world’s biggest and fastest growing airlines, sees a huge market market globally for direct flights from India. And this includes not just flying Indians from India but also serving as a hub for flyers from nearby countries to come to its hubs here and then take its connections abroad — what Emirates / Etihad / Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines currently do for transit passengers from India via their hubs in Dubai / Abu Dhabi / Doha and Singapore Changi. With over 10 crore passengers last year, IndiGo has the feed to fill up long range wide bodies at its hubs like those foreign airlines.
“Indian carriers’ share in international carriage to and from India is not very high. And this percentage drops on routes above 4-5 hours of flying time from India. We see nonstops across the world from not just Delhi & Mumbai but also Bengaluru & Hyderabad. Delhi and Mumbai are getting their second airports soon,” Elbers said.
While the A350 product is yet to be defined, what is certain is IndiGo trying to retain its cost leadership in the widebody space too. That became clear with how it has entered the space by first wet leasing (hiring with pilots) two Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines to operate a daily between Delhi/Mumbai and Istanbul. After gaining experience from that, it placed the order for wide bodies whose induction starts in three years. “India requires a large number of wide bodies given its market requirement and potentially Our order for 30 A350s, with an option for 70 more, is a very careful start,” Elbers said.
Indian airports are also evolving to meet the not so distant requirements of Air India group and IndiGo. None of the old airports were built to handle transfer traffic. Over the recent past, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports are some of those that are gearing up for domestic to domestic; domestic to international (and vice versa) and international to international transfers. But they have a long way to go. Case in point: India’s busiest airport at Delhi can now handle 11 crore passengers between its mega Terminal 1 on one side and T 3 & 2 on the other. Yet it does not have a automatic people mover like an air train for seamless transfers and the same is still 4-5 years away.
The hubs near India like Dubai have been providing seamless connections on their mega home airlines. Now while India is on its way to having its own mega airlines, work on developing airports as true hubs has also begun in right earnest.
“We will fulfil government’s vision to develop India as a global aviation hub,” Elbers said. IndiGo has started preparations for its transformation for the world stage. So very soon you will find Indian carriers’ aircraft at airports in distant continents.
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