IndiGo to launch Delhi-Doha flights this year

Doha to be IndiGo's sixth overseas destination; carrier has not finalised a launch date yet

IndiGo plans to launch Delhi-Doha flight this year. The Qatari capital is expected to be IndiGo’s sixth overseas destination and its third in the Gulf after Dubai and Muscat.

The choice of Doha is interesting, as Indian carriers have underutilised traffic rights to Qatar. At present, Air India Express and Jet Airways fly to Doha. Qatar Airways flies to 13 cities in India and has been seeking additional flights to India.

Qatar Airways has repeatedly expressed interest to invest in IndiGo, the largest and most profitable Indian airline. The Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company has denied news about stake sale to Qatar Airways.

The airline has secured slots at Doha but launch date has not been finalised.

IndiGo did not respond to an email query. A senior airline executive confirmed plans to launch Doha flights but added the service will not begin immediately as domestic market is expanding rapidly.

“Delivery of Airbus A320neo has been delayed and IndiGo may be waiting for revised delivery schedule before taking a decision regarding Doha flight. Doha is well connected from cities in South India and so a Delhi-Doha flight makes sense,” an aviation analyst remarked.

Currently, IndiGo flies 210 flights per week on foreign routes to Dubai, Muscat, Bangkok, Kathmandu and Singapore. Dubai is its largest overseas destination and it flies there from seven cities. IndiGo has a largely domestic focus and thus number of overseas routes it flies is less in comparison to even SpiceJet, which flies to six overseas destinations. IndiGo earns about 10 per cent of revenue from foreign operations. In the last financial year, overseas revenue contributed Rs 1,200 crore.