IndiGo will seek to expand its international network with strategic partnerships following a return to profitability for the Indian carrier. The airline's capacity is up over a quarter from last year and it is already exceeding its pre-COVID international levels.
More international partnerships for IndiGo?
As reported by Reuters, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has revealed that the Indian airline is seeking partnerships that would enable it to expand its international network following successful codeshare agreements with Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.
Pieter Elbers told analysts in a results call,
"We will continue to explore strategic partnerships in the future that will allow added connectivity for our customers and provide us with more global visibility."
The move comes amid a return to form for the Indian low-cost carrier, which is presently exceeding its pre-pandemic capacity in the international market at 105% of 2019 levels. Along with its 75 domestic and 22 international destinations, IndiGo provides services to 27 additional destinations across Europe and Asia through codeshare agreements.
In fact, following a 25.3% increase in ASKs (available seat kilometers) from last year, the carrier anticipates a 45% increase in the upcoming fourth quarter compared to Q4 FY2022.
Back to profitability
Q3 FY2023 represents the first profitable quarter at IndiGo in a year following a slim INR 1,298 million ($15.7 million) net profit posted for Q3 FY2022 - the airline's net profit stood at INR 14,226 million ($172.8 million) for the most recent quarter, an almost 11-fold increase on last year. At its peak, IndiGo was operating 1,685 daily flights to almost 100 domestic and international destinations.
Pieter Elbers commented,
"Third quarter performance was strong both operationally and financially in the backdrop of robust demand for air travel. The wide range of initiatives that were set in motion across the organization have started to yield results. I am proud to report the highest-ever quarterly revenue of 154.1 billion rupees and robust profit of 14.2 billion rupees for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023."
Prior to this, the airline had recorded net losses in 10 of its last 11 financial quarters - on the downside, the airline recorded a 52.4% increase in fuel costs, while its CASK (cost per available seat kilometer) excluding fuel went up by 6.0% to INR 2.76 due to an increase in foreign exchange losses. A considerable 21.9% boost in yields from last year more than helped the carrier offset rising expenses, while its load factor was up 5.4 percentage points to 85.1%.
Discover more aviation news with Simple Flying.
Preparing the fleet
IndiGo oversaw a net increase of 22 passenger aircraft and 1 freighter during the last quarter, taking it to a fleet size of over 300 aircraft. The airline has bolstered its international capacity by wet leasing widebody aircraft, while it still expects its first Airbus A321XLRs to arrive from 2024-25.
Check out our analysis on how IndiGo's 777 wet lease could influence its A321XLR plans.
As Simple Flying reported this week, IndiGo operated its first commercial service using Boeing 777 aircraft on wet lease from codeshare partner Turkish Airlines - the aircraft completed its first trip between Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Istanbul Airport (IST) on February 1st.
Are you excited about IndiGo establishing new partnerships and expanding its international network? Who do you think the airline should partner with? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Reuters