IndiGo sees strong demand as international routes open up

Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo is seeing strong demand on international routes as they start to open up with India’s emergence from the pandemic. This has had a positive impact on the carrier’s international yields, says IndiGo chief Ronojoy Dutta. “There clearly is some pent up demand…particularly on international markets, whether its Oman, Kuwait or Dubai…every market that opens up sees a huge surge in demand, and prices are high as a result,” he says. This is supporting ticket prices. Domestically, the airline is also seeing strong demand, but ticket prices are governed by official pricing caps. He adds, though, that airlines are cognizant of high fuel prices, and behaving “responsibly” from a pricing perspective. Dutta made the remarks during an analysts’ call following the carrier’s second quarter earnings, in which operating losses widened to INR14b ($187m) for its Q2 ended 30 September, compared with an operating loss of INR12b a year earlier. On the back of an improving Covid-19 situation in India, revenue nearly doubled to INR58b. Dutta is also hopeful that more ‘travel bubble’ arrangements will be opened up, allowing Indians to travel to more destinations overseas. He understands that negotiations are taking place with Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.<br/>