IndiGo sheds budget domestic airline tag with upmarket overseas push

India’s biggest airline is leaving behind its budget image as it expands overseas and adds business-class seating, building on its dominant position at home in the world’s fastest-growing commercial aviation market. IndiGo will bolster the number of international destinations it serves to about 40 by the end of March, up from 26 two years ago, after adding direct connections to cities such as Jakarta and Nairobi, while recently offering premium “stretch” cabins on popular shuttle routes between major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Delhi. The move blends its cost-conscious, India-centric focus with newer, fuller-service offerings, according to CE Pieter Elbers — setting itself up for fierce competition with global long-haul carriers and departing from its budget roots. “We have left that station long ago,” Elbers told the Financial Times in an interview. “I think some of us are calling us a hybrid, I’m fine with whatever name you put on it.” Operating for almost 20 years, IndiGo has reached commanding heights as more Indians take to the skies. It has seized more than 60% of the domestic market — up from 37% a decade ago. A focus on costs and efficiency has helped its rise in a turbulent environment where many local competitors have fallen — including the billionaire backed Go First, Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways.<br/>