Pieter Elbers: KLM veteran is the new pilot in IndiGo's management cockpit

Elbers' relatively young age and expertise in developing international hubs are some of the reasons why he was selected as CEO

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, has a new pilot in its management cockpit. Starting October, former KLM CEO Pieter Elbers will be heading the low-cost carrier IndiGo, the company announced on Wednesday.

He will succeed Ronojoy Dutta who has decided to hang up his boots after almost four decades of career during which he served as a board member of US Airways, president of United Airlines and CEO of Air Sahara. In 2020, IndiGo had extended Dutta’s term as CEO till January 2024. But Dutta, now 71, is understood to have expressed his desire to relocate back to the US where his family is based.

“He (Dutta) successfully led the airline amidst two of its most difficult phases -- first during the tussle between the promoters, then between the pandemic. With competition increasing in Indian skies, age was not on his side to have that amount of energy as a company like IndiGo would require now,” a person aware of the development said.

Elbers, 51, is a 30-year veteran of the company who oversaw restructurings at KLM before and during the coronavirus pandemic. He started his career at KLM in 1992 and held several managerial positions in Netherlands and overseas in Japan, Greece and Italy.

Despite a three-decade long relationship with KLM, last month he stepped down as CEO of the Dutch carrier amid a very controversial environment. In recent years, relations between the Dutch airline and Air France have been strained as Elbers strongly advocated for KLM's interests within the Air France-KLM joint venture of which KLM has been a part of since 2004.

Since then Elbers was on the shortlist of head hunters. Sources said that Tata Sons had a preliminary round of talks with Elbers to become the CEO of Air India. However, the Tatas last week appointed Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Singapore Airlines’ long-haul budget unit Scoot, as the CEO.

“India promises to be the last bastion of ginormous growth globally and given Mr Elbers' deep understanding of the business, his legendary leadership qualities coupled with his energy and passion, we are ever so confident that under his stewardship, IndiGo will play a pivotal role in this growth opportunity,” managing director and promoter Rahul Bhatia said in a memo to employees that was reviewed by Business Standard. 

Sources said that Elbers' selection as CEO for IndiGo was a strategic decision due to his expertise in developing international hubs at home airports.

The Dutch flag-carrier continues to operate one of Europe’s most diverse hubs from its home base at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Under Elbers, Air France-KLM had developed a deep commercial partnership with Jet Airways through which it got access to Jet’s domestic traffic in India while Jet expanded its operations in Europe. IndiGo recently signed slew of code share partnerships with major global airlines including Air France-KLM

IndiGo, which has more than 50 percent share of India’s domestic market, looks to expand internationally. People aware of the development said that while currently only 25 per cent of IndiGo’s operations are on international routes, it has plans to expand it to up to 40 per cent in next four years. 

The airline, which plans to induct Airbus’ long range narrow body aircraft A321 XLR starting from mid-2024, has plans to operate to multiple European cities like Barcelona, Rome, Moscow, Milan from its hub airport at Delhi.

It also plans to develop Delhi as a transit hub for passengers from South East Asia, China to European and African cities.

“The next phase of IndiGo’s growth will come from international sectors of which sixth freedom traffic to Europe and Africa through Delhi Airport – the airline’s home airport. It is already in talks with Delhi and Bengaluru airport in terms of development of infrastructure, facilities of a hub airport. Elbers’ expertise in developing Amsterdam as a hub for KLM and his connections in Europe and other large aviation markets will come in handy,” a person aware of the development said.