Budget airline IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd, will launch its international operations in September with highly competitive ticket prices that could trigger a fare war on the South-East Asian and West Asian routes.
IndiGo, the country’s third largest carrier by passengers with 240 aircraft on order, will offer 25,000 tickets at Rs.9,999 each for flights to Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai in a bid to woo passengers, said IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh.
“It’s not a small-time marketing gimmick. Even in Diwali and Dussehra you can fly to holiday destinations at these fares,” he said. Typically, fares get higher closer to the date of booking.
IndiGo’s first international flight on 1 September will be Delhi-Dubai, which will be followed by Delhi-Bangkok, Delhi-Singapore, Mumbai-Dubai and Mumbai-Bangkok.
Fares may crash 20-25% due to IndiGo’s entry into the international market, said Keyur Joshi, co-founder and chief operating officer of travel portal MakeMyTrip. “This will realign the market. AirAsia, Air Arabia were having a free run. It’s good they have some competition. Today, it is Delhi and Mumbai, tomorrow they would put more flights from Bangalore, Chennai.”
Return tickets to Bangkok now typically cost around Rs.15,000, to Singapore around Rs.20,000 and to Dubai around Rs.13,000.
If IndiGo does well, other airlines such as SpiceJet Ltd will definitely be interested in these tourist-favourite routes, Joshi said.
Being a late starter, IndiGo will have tough competition from established budget carriers such as AirAsia, Air Arabia, Tiger Airways and flydubai. Its full-service, home-grown rivals will be Air India, Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, while those from overseas include Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways.
Ghosh expects to build on the goodwill the airline has generated with its domestic operations.
“We are serving a market which is sometimes for a first-time international flier,” he said. “Many of them will fly with a service they know already and are comfortable with.”
The no-frills model with paid food on board will be retained. Alcohol will be sold on board, something that’s not permitted on domestic flights.
In the second phase, IndiGo plans to launch Mumbai-Muscat, Delhi-Kathmandu, Kolkata-Dhaka, Kolkata-Bangkok and flights from Kochi after October depending on clearances from the aviation ministry.
Ghosh said 15% of IndiGo’s total flights will be international by the end of the fiscal. The airline plans to increase its fleet from 39 to 55 Airbus A320s in that time with 320 daily flights from the current 259.
The IndiGo launch will mark the start of international services at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Terminal 1D, which is dedicated to serving low-fare carriers. “You will have to walk less,” Ghosh joked, referring to the long distances that passengers sometimes have to cover to get to the boarding gates at Delhi’s state-of-the-art Terminal 3, which serves the country’s full-service carriers and all international airlines.
IndiGo, the country’s third largest carrier by passengers with 240 aircraft on order, will offer 25,000 tickets at Rs.9,999 each for flights to Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai in a bid to woo passengers, said IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh.
“It’s not a small-time marketing gimmick. Even in Diwali and Dussehra you can fly to holiday destinations at these fares,” he said. Typically, fares get higher closer to the date of booking.
IndiGo’s first international flight on 1 September will be Delhi-Dubai, which will be followed by Delhi-Bangkok, Delhi-Singapore, Mumbai-Dubai and Mumbai-Bangkok.
Fares may crash 20-25% due to IndiGo’s entry into the international market, said Keyur Joshi, co-founder and chief operating officer of travel portal MakeMyTrip. “This will realign the market. AirAsia, Air Arabia were having a free run. It’s good they have some competition. Today, it is Delhi and Mumbai, tomorrow they would put more flights from Bangalore, Chennai.”
Return tickets to Bangkok now typically cost around Rs.15,000, to Singapore around Rs.20,000 and to Dubai around Rs.13,000.
If IndiGo does well, other airlines such as SpiceJet Ltd will definitely be interested in these tourist-favourite routes, Joshi said.
Being a late starter, IndiGo will have tough competition from established budget carriers such as AirAsia, Air Arabia, Tiger Airways and flydubai. Its full-service, home-grown rivals will be Air India, Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, while those from overseas include Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways.
Ghosh expects to build on the goodwill the airline has generated with its domestic operations.
“We are serving a market which is sometimes for a first-time international flier,” he said. “Many of them will fly with a service they know already and are comfortable with.”
The no-frills model with paid food on board will be retained. Alcohol will be sold on board, something that’s not permitted on domestic flights.
In the second phase, IndiGo plans to launch Mumbai-Muscat, Delhi-Kathmandu, Kolkata-Dhaka, Kolkata-Bangkok and flights from Kochi after October depending on clearances from the aviation ministry.
Ghosh said 15% of IndiGo’s total flights will be international by the end of the fiscal. The airline plans to increase its fleet from 39 to 55 Airbus A320s in that time with 320 daily flights from the current 259.
The IndiGo launch will mark the start of international services at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Terminal 1D, which is dedicated to serving low-fare carriers. “You will have to walk less,” Ghosh joked, referring to the long distances that passengers sometimes have to cover to get to the boarding gates at Delhi’s state-of-the-art Terminal 3, which serves the country’s full-service carriers and all international airlines.
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