IndiGo sees Gulf as 'natural extension' to operations

IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh stated the "Gulf is the natural extension" to its operations (Gulf News, 05-Aug-2011). He noted that there is a "consistent market for expatriate Indians living in the Gulf" and that the market is "more inclined towards low fare because of income levels". He stated the carrier will be the only Indian LCC operator on the Delhi-Dubai sector when the service is launched on 01-Sep-2011, stating that the "route authorities on the Indian side are highly under-utilised, therefore, we can offer more services on the same routes than the competition can". Around 51% of the available capacity on the India side is still unutilised, he stated. On the carrier's future plan in the Middle East, Mr Ghosh stated that the carrier will operate to "no less" than five or six destinations in the Middle East over the next few years, including Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and possibly Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain. "We would also be looking at some markets in Saudi Arabia," he stated. On the carrier's Delhi-Dubai service, forward bookings are at more than 50% at present, with the seats "selling quite well". The projected load factors are to be in the mid-80s in the first year of operations.

IndiGo: "We work in a very competitive environment in India. And my simple view of that is competition is good, it keeps us on our toes, and most importantly, it's good for the customer. So whether it is a carrier out of Dubai or out of India, competition is great. Having said that, I firmly believe that as we come in - as it has happened in every other market that we have gone in before, you will see the market expand. So we are not going to start eating market share from another airline. We are not interested in that. We are interested in the larger pie increasing," Aditya Ghosh, President. Source: Gulf News, 05-Aug-2011.