IndiGo announces foray into business class after record profit

IndiGo said that will be available on the busiest routes of the country which sees heavy corporate traffic and will be operational before the end of this year. Coming August, around IndiGo’s anniversary, more details on product offering, launch date and routes will be unveiled.

Sources said that cabins in 35 aircraft are likely to be fitted with a premium cabin which will have eight rows of seats with two on each side.

IndiGo’s legroom, or seat pitch in industry jargon, currently amounts to an average of 30 inches on its Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft with three on each side.

While the no-frills model to pack more passengers in dense cabins and charging extra for food, priority boarding and seat allocation has served IndiGo well helping it to grab 60% share of India’s and stay profitable where airlines struggle to increase price of tickets.

But IndiGo’s leadership is now convinced that with a firm leadership position in India’s domestic market, the airline should now use this position to become a leader in .

“Considering India’s soaring economy and the evolving aspirations of Indian society, it’s time for us to increase availability of this service for the nation. It will create a desired option for many who are aiming to travel business, some of them seasoned, for some others perhaps for the first time in their lives,” CEO said in a post-results call with analysts.

In FY 24, the company's from operations grew 26% to Rs 17,825.3 crore from Rs 14,161 last fiscal.

The carrier's EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rent) jumped to Rs 4,412.3 crore as against Rs 2,966.5 crore a year back, while its margin increased to 24.8 percent from 20.9 percent.

Yields, a metric for profitability, increased 7 % to Rs 5.19 per kilometre. The carrier's load factor, or the passenger carrying capacity being utilised, improved by 2.1% to 86.3 percent.

However, cost escalated due to high fuel costs and grounding of planes due to Pratt & Whitney engines as cost per ASK (CASK) was at Rs 4.62 from Rs 4.38 a year ago.

“The strong execution of our strategy has yielded consistent results for us as we achieved the targets that we had set for ourselves as a team at the beginning of the year. My sincere gratitude to our 107 million customers for placing their trust in us and to all my IndiGo colleagues for their great work and relentless dedication," Elbers said.