IndiGo Officially Confirms Business Class Seats Expected to Launch By Year-End

My god! I cannot believe this. You know there are some pieces of news, which can change the structure of an entire industry. With IndiGo officially confirming the launch of a business-class product onboard its fleet, this decision may have the capability to change the landscape of the Indian aviation sector.

IndiGo: Business Class Product Launch

Since its inception, IndiGo has never operated an aircraft with a Premium cabin. All the Airbus A320neo family and ATR-72 jets are equipped exclusively with Economy Class seats. Even on the two Boeing 777s leased by Turkish Airlines, the business cabin was sold by Turkish counterpart, not IndiGo. But now, this scenario is going to change.

IndiGo’s Chief Pieter Elbers has officially announced the launch of a business-class cabin. The airline will introduce tailor-made business class seats on the busiest business routes in India. Because of the price point, the business class aircraft will be deployed on those routes that have more business and corporate travelers.

On 4 August 2024, the airline will complete 18 years of operations. Around its anniversary celebration, it will share more details about the business class cabin. Before the end of this year, the cabin will be pressed into commercial service.

Is IndiGo With Business Class Moving Towards Hybrid Carrier?

Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline has been giving hints of moving its strategy from an LCC to a hybrid carrier. A hybrid carrier means a mix of Low-Cost and Full Service operations. With the A321XLR order in 2019, it made the intentions clear to foray into the long haul market. And of course, you cannot enter into the long-haul market with the current product. Hence, this premium product was always on the cards. Recently, the airline started offering the IFE service exclusively onboard the Delhi to Goa route.

According to the airline, it is time to redefine premium air travel in India, as travelers’ aspirations continue to grow. CEO Pieter Elbers said that since its inception, the growth of India and IndiGo has been parallel. With India on its way to becoming the third-largest economy in the world, it becomes the airline’s job to provide business travelers with more options.

Before the end of this year, this business class product will be deployed on busy business routes.

So Many Questions?

There are hundreds of questions roaming around in my mind. Will the airline select business class seats from any seat manufacturer or develop customized seats for itself? If it selects the seat manufacturer, who will get the order? Which routes will get the business class seats? Will both A320neo and A321neo get the business class cabin? Will the A321XLR, which will join next year get this product? What will be the configuration of these seats? Will IndiGo go the jetBlue path?

IndiGo is now looking to enter the long-haul market, which is currently dominated by Air India. With the Airbus A350 order and launch of business class seats, it is evident that the airline is moving towards a hybrid strategy. It has posted record profits for FY 23-24 at Rs 8,172 crore. In the quarter ended March 2024, the airline made a profit of Rs 1,895 crore. It made a profit of an average of Rs 20.8 crore every day in this quarter.

Conclusion

IndiGo is all set to introduce business-class seats onboard its Airbus fleet. By the end of this year, it will officially launch the product on busy business routes across India. The seats will be tailor-made, about which more details will be made public in August. Before the end of this year, these seats will be pressed into commercial service.

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