The airline, which will take delivery of its first Airbus A321XLR aircraft in FY26, will fly to destinations “where no other Indian carriers fly to at this point of time,” IndiGo chief executive officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers told ET in an interview.
IndiGo’s destinations could include Athens, Rome, Venice, Seoul, Tokyo and Bali, leveraging its ubiquity in India. As much as 90% of India’s population is within 100 km of an IndiGo flight, Elbers said.
“First, it will allow us to operate to destinations which we already serve today from particular places in India, but not from other places,” said Dutchman Elbers, 54, formerly CEO of KLM. “Then, we have a great opportunity to connect a whole set of destinations in Europe and Asia for Indian tourists or even Indian business or family travelers.”
Since Elbers joined IndiGo in 2022, the airline has doubled its international destinations to 40. The airline, which currently operates 28% of its international capacity, will increase it to 40% by 2030. His choice as CEO was underpinned by the long-term strategy of transforming the low-fare carrier with a single-class configuration and two main aircraft types (A320s and ATR72s) into one with a more diverse fleet, a wider overseas network and broader seating choices.
To be sure, IndiGo’s services are still relatively frugal. Full-service rival Air India offers hot food, alcohol and a cabin with up to four classes on a few of its routes, especially the new A350-900s it has. AI’s older planes, which have decrepit interiors, are undergoing upgrades. The Gulf carriers, besides offering a full range of services, leverage their hub-and-spoke model to pick up a big share of outbound traffic. IndiGo’s A321XLRs will be fitted with 197 seats, including 12 business class, less dense than the airline’s other planes, allowing it to fly to destinations within 8.5 hours from Delhi or Mumbai. Industry sources said that the airline has an orderbook of around 70 XLR aircraft, which it can increase in future. It has also placed an order for 30 Airbus A350 aircraft, which will join the fleet in FY28.Elbers described IndiGo’s international network expansion as a continuous process, with India at its core. “I put India in the centre of our operation,” he said. “From there, you can expand the circle all the time, almost like a balloon.” He added that recent additions like Krabi in Thailand and the Seychelles demonstrate this regional growth, while the introduction of widebody aircraft will enable flights to “Amsterdam and Manchester… our first points in Europe”
In April last year, Elbers had said 87% of India’s population was within 100 km of IndiGo flights. Today, “It’s sub-90-ish%.”
Despite IndiGo now servicing 91 destinations, some airports are still at a distance from sections of the population, hence the number is stable.
“That will keep creeping up, so we’ve pretty much covered the entire country,” he said.
IndiGo has an order book of 1,000 aircraft, including 40 A321s. “Around 8-10% of the fleet will be premium-configured planes-about 40 aircraft out of a projected 400-plus,” he said.
