Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
25.08.2023 - 13:29 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia / Pieter Elbers / Indigo Ceo / Air India
An airline does not have 86 million passengers by chance — these customers have to choose you, according to Pieter Elbers, CEO of Indian low-cost carrier Indigo.
One item Elbers is considering to keep passengers flying with Indigo: An enhanced loyalty program.
“Around 10 years ago, the Indian market was probably less ready for a loyalty system, but today it’s definitely ready and that has made us review our position,” Elbers told Skift recently during an interview in the Indian capital city of Delhi.
“The exact details are yet to be determined. Given our diverse customer base, we must carefully consider the best approach,” Elbers said.
In 2019, Indigo had introduced the Ka-Ching card, with more of a cashback system, which Elbers called a form of loyalty but without the classical tiers.
The airline recently reported its highest-ever annual revenue, at $6.8 billion, and best-ever quarterly profit . It flew 86 million passengers, a 72 percent jump from last year.
Now it has plans to grow its international operations: After all, Indigo is the sixth-largest carrier in the world by market size, but has a low presence in other regions.
The airline serves 78 domestic and 26 international destinations. Around 90 percent of its passengers consists of domestic travelers.
Elbers acknowledged that Indigo needs to work on brand awareness. “Outside the scope of our present range aircrafts, we’re not very well known,” he said.
The airline though is experimenting with new routes and wants to start flights into Nairobi, Jakarta and Central Asia with its existing fleet.
And then of course, there is the order of the Airbus A321 XLR (extra long range). Indigo expects to take the delivery of its very first XLR around 2024-2025, even as Elbers said the airline hasn’t taken a final decision on where to fly next with the XLRs.
“One of the charms of the Indian market, is that it is a very late booking market and people are open to new routes and new developments. Contrary to some parts of the world, there’s no need to announce new routes a year prior,” said Elbers.
Defining the strategy for internationalization, Elbers said the airline is focused on building its own network and also working through codeshare partnerships.
Indigo currently has codeshare agreements with seven foreign carriers — Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and Qantas.
Despite its current fleet size of 307 aircraft, the airline has a substantial order book of around 500 planes. However, it also faces supply chain challenges.
As a result, Indigo has now extended some of its leases and has looked for more creative solutions.
For example, Indigo connects 33 destinations in Europe offered by a code share with
Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
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Oyo, the India-based budget hotel chain and booking platform, plans to double its premium segment hotel count in Indonesia from around 200 properties to over 400 by the end of 2023.
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