Summary
- IndiGo reported a quarterly profit of INR 30 billion ($361.4m) and achieved its fifth consecutive quarterly profit, showing strong recovery from the financial impact of COVID-19.
- In the third quarter, IndiGo increased capacity by 26.8%, carried 27.5 million passengers, and improved its passenger load factor to 85.8%, indicating robust demand for air travel.
- Despite the grounding of around 70 aircraft, IndiGo successfully managed the situation and plans to maintain capacity and drive future growth.
On Friday, India’s fastest-growing airline, IndiGo, released its results for the quarter ending December 31, 2023 – the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal year. In 3Q2024, the airline made an after-tax profit of INR 30 billion ($361.4m) and recorded its fifth consecutive quarterly profit, well and truly shaking off the financial blues of the COVID-19 era.
Passenger record in the third quarter
For the quarter that ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022 (YoY), IndiGo increased capacity by 26.8%. The number of passengers carried rose by 23.4% and the airline improved its passenger load factor by 0.7 points to 85.8%. IndiGo carried 27.5 million passengers compared to 22.3 million in 3Q2023 and lifted operational revenue by 30% to $2.34 billion.
Photo: Paulose NK | Shutterstock
On February 2, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers discussed the quarterly results on a conference call and said the airline had made a profit after tax of 30 billion rupees at a margin of 15.4%. Elbers stated that the positive results over the last five consecutive quarters are an outcome of robust demand for air travel and the diligent execution of the airline’s strategy.
“With these results, I am very glad to share that we have become net worth positive again and we continue to recover from the losses we incurred during the COVID period. We added around 27% capacity in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) and with an underlying strong demand this growth was well absorbed as our load factors improved to 86% as compared to the same period last year.”
In the third quarter, IndiGo reached the milestone of 2,000 daily flights and carried 27.5 million passengers, the highest-ever number carried quarterly in its history. The strong finish to calendar 2023 also got IndiGo admitted to the exclusive club of airlines that carried 100 million passengers in a year, which it achieved in just 17.5 years, which Elbers said was “probably the fastest of any airline in the world.”
Taking the engine AOGs in its stride
What makes these results even more impressive is that around 70 of its 358 aircraft are grounded due to inspection and supply chain issues relating to the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines that power about 140 of its Airbus A320neo Family jets.
Photo: WeChitra | Shutterstock
On the groundings, Elbers said early actions taken by IndiGo helped it navigate the AOG situation and grow capacity in each and every quarter.
“Looking ahead to the calendar year 2024, we still have headwinds in the form of these groundings, however we continue to work diligently towards maintaining our capacity plans and driving our future growth.”
IndiGo reported it had 358 aircraft at the end of the December 31 quarter. Its fleet composition is as follows:
- 31 Airbus A320-200s
- 184 A320neos
- 94 A321neos
- Three A321 freighters
- 44 ATR turboprops
- And two Boeing 777s on a damp lease arrangement
During the third quarter, IndiGo added seven new domestic destinations and now serves 86 destinations within India. In the second half of 2023, IndiGo added six new international destinations, taking the network to 29 destinations. During the third quarter the airline grew its international ASKs by 47% year-on-year, with Elbers seeing more international growth opportunities on the horizon.
“There is still a very long runway for future growth as Indian carriers take the center stage for international travel supported by the onset of world-class infrastructure developments across India.”
IndiGo is also making the most of its airline partnerships and has been particularly successful in working with Turkish Airlines, now operating 42 codeshare destinations beyond Istanbul. The most recent additions to this agreement include Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo. IndiGo has also partnered with Qantas, giving connectivity to four major Australian cities – Melbourne, Sydney, Perh and Brisbane.
Operationally, Indigo returned some excellent performances in the third quarter, including technical dispatch reliability of 99.91%, on-time performance of 78% at four key metro airports, and a flight cancelation rate of 0.94%. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 (January-March 2024), capacity is expected to increase by around 12% compared to the same period in 2023.
Have you flown with IndiGo this year? Let us know about it in the comments.
