Tariffs: IndiGo CEO says long-term plans won't be impacted

On calls to cap domestic airfares, he said fares typically go up during the travel season, adding that it is only during occasions like the Kumbh Mela that fares really skyrocket.

India’s largest carrier IndiGo is confident that the global events triggered by tariff hikes will not impact its long-term plans.

The large domestic market, which includes a big untapped segment, will help airlines, the company’s Chief Executive Pieter Elbers told PTI in an interaction.

“Some of the more recent dynamics and the global scale are not changing any of our capacity (expansion) plans for next year,” he said. He, however, added that a major economy like India cannot be insulated from a major world event like the tariff wars.

Elbers said the company is desirous of doubling its size by the end of the decade and the same will not be impacted. The long-term trajectory for the business is one of growth, and the company will not be affected if there is a quarter of a blip or higher achievement as well, he said.

To a question on the duopoly in the Indian aviation market — the Tatas being the only formidable competitors to IndiGo — and how he sees it going ahead, Elbers suggested that having an airline of big size and scale that is able to compete globally would be helpful for India. He noted that similar consolidation has been observed in other aviation markets as well.

On the review of the seat-sharing framework by Indian authorities while negotiating with other countries, Elbers said parting seats represents a “missed opportunity” for Indian carriers, as foreign carriers are benefiting from it.

India needs airlines and also the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities given the employment potential, he said, adding that IndiGo itself sends its aircraft overseas for such work. To underline the employment potential, Elbers said IndiGo employs over 60,000 people at present.

On calls to cap domestic airfares, he said fares typically go up during the travel season, adding that it is only during occasions like the Kumbh Mela that fares really skyrocket.

Underlining that airlines serve an important role from both an economic and social perspective, he pitched for allowing market forces to operate. The average ticket costs are not so high in India, he said, adding that the country is one of the most competitive aviation markets in the world.

With a new airport coming up in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai, Elbers said that at a conceptual level, IndiGo would like to grow from the new facility while maintaining services at older airports. The company will operate from the Navi Mumbai airport, which will serve customers in both Mumbai and Pune, once it opens later this year, he added.