Pieter Elbers takes charge as IndiGo's new CEO

Pieter Elbers, the former chief executive of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Aviation industry veteran Peiter Elbers assumed the charge of Indigo's chief executive officer on September 6, over three months after he was announced as the replacement for outgoing CEO Ronojoy Dutta.

"Petrus Johannes Theodorus Elbers has joined as chief executive officer of the company with effect from today, September 6, 2022," the private Indian carrier said in an exchange filing.

Elbers, the former chief executive of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, was named as the next CEO by IndiGo on May 18, 2022. He has been at the helm of KLM since 2014. The 52-year-old is also a member of the executive committee of the Air France – KLM Group.

Elbers had started his career in 1992 with KLM and, over the past three decades, held several managerial positions in the company in both the Netherlands and overseas in Japan, Greece and Italy.

Also Read | IndiGo's new CEO Pieter Elbers will have his task cut out

On his appointment as the next IndiGo CEO in May, Elbers had said, "What IndiGo’s employees and leadership have jointly built, since its start 16 years ago, is, by any standard, truly impressive. I am very honoured and do look forward to build upon this, working together with the entire IndiGo team. I am delighted to become a part of the next stage of IndiGo’s incredible journey, further fulfilling the vision of what the airline can do and will be for its customers and India."

With Elbers assuming the charge, the three-year stint of Dutta as IndiGo's CEO has formally concluded. The 71-year-old led the carrier through the turbulent period of COVID-19. In the post-pandemic period, the airline continues to maintain its dominating position in the Indian market.

In July 2022, the airline carried 57.11 lakh passengers, amounting to a 58.8 percent share of the domestic market, as per the monthly numbers released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airline also narrowed its consolidated net loss to Rs 1,064 crore for the quarter ended June 2022 from Rs 3,174.2 crore in the year-ago period.