Hard for rivals to beat us with our reach, costs: IndiGo's Ronojoy Dutta

IndiGo has no plans for acquiring any airline which will dilute its business model

With its lowest cost structure and wide network, IndiGo can withstand any competition, the airline’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ronojoy Dutta said on Tuesday.
 
Dutta said IndiGo has no plans for acquiring another airline that will dilute its business model and distract the management’s attention. He said this at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday while responding to shareholder queries on competition from Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed proposed airline Akasa and plans for acquiring airlines like Jet Airways.
 
Dutta said IndiGo is unique and well positioned with a low-cost structure, extensive network and connecting traffic, which helps it fill up flights. “We are world class in terms of service, too. It is tough for competition to beat IndiGo,” he added.
 
IndiGo is the largest domestic airline with over 58 per cent market share and a fleet of 277 aircraft as of June-end. It post­ed a loss of Rs 5,806 crore in FY21 and Rs 3,174 crore in the first quarter of FY22 as its business was severely impacted by the two waves of the pandemic.
 
While competition is set to intensify in the Indian skies with the launch of two airlines, IndiGo’s management remains unfazed. Dutta said the airline has managed to reduce cash burn through cost-saving initiatives and increased liquidity by around Rs 6,600 crore last year. Cargo and charter flights, too, are helping the growth with attractive margins, he added.
 
Dutta said the airline is seeing gradual recovery in traffic and operating over a thousand flights daily in August. He expects domestic traffic to reach pre-Covid figures by Dec­ember and international traffic to return to pre-Covid levels by next July.