News
IndiGo posts $300 million profit for 2015
May 6th 2016
IndiGo Airlines parent, InterGlobe Aviation, has posted a 53% 2015 full-year net profit increase, to 19.9 billion rupees ($300 million), on the back of significant revenue growth at the budget carrier. Read More » However, it said higher aircraft and engine costs were a drag on its bottom line and could prove challenging going forward.
IndiGo is India's largest carrier and is set to maintain its lead with its 530 A320 Family aircraft on order. Earlier this year, the airline became the first A320neo operator in the Asia-Pacific and has just taken delivery of the fourth of the type, Airbus SVP for sales and marketing, Dr Kiran Rao, told Orient Aviation, adding “the aircraft is doing a great job”.
IndiGo president, Aditya Ghosh, said the neo will enable the airline to “structurally reduce fuel costs”, which he described as “the single largest element of [its] cost structure”.
In other India updates, LiveMint news agency, citing internal airline sources, this week reported Air India Express and Alliance Air, both subsidiaries of Air India, might join Star Alliance's Connecting Partner Model (CPM). Membership offers customers a more seamless travel experience and extends frequent flyer benefits, including lounge access, award miles accrual, priority boarding and complimentary checked baggage to members.
Connecting Partners will be carefully assessed for their fit into the existing Star network. While the selected carriers need to comply with Star standards, they will not become a member of the 28-member alliance, Star Alliance chief, Markus Schwab, told Orient Aviation at the CPM’s December launch. Until now, South African Airways’ budget offshoot, Mango Airlines, is the only CPM member.
Air India Express offers an extensive network from India to the Middle East, Pakistan and destinations within a two to five hour radius of its Kochi base. Alliance Air is a domestic carrier.
Etihad Airways has started flying its A380s to Mumbai. Etihad CEO, James Hogan, said the A380 Mumbai service would tap into feeder markets to and from Europe, North America and the Middle East, overtaking Emirates Airline as the largest contributing carrier for passenger traffic to and from India. “Our commitment to India is unequivocal, having built a robust and successful route network with our own dedicated services and those of our partner Jet Airways. Combined, they give us a 20% market share,” he said. Emirates and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are the only other carriers allowed to fly the A380 to Mumbai.
