Summary
- IndiGo has expanded its international operations with flights to Tbilisi in Georgia, its 29th international destination.
- The airline has also launched routes to Nairobi in Kenya and Jakarta in Indonesia, expanding its network and becoming the first airline to directly connect Mumbai with Jakarta.
- IndiGo celebrated its 17th anniversary, reaching a milestone of 1,900 flights in a day, and reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of nearly ₹31 billion ($373 million) for the first quarter of this year.
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, recently started operations in another international destination – Tbilisi in Georgia. The airline is on a network expansion spree, particularly to overseas locations. It has introduced or announced several international flights on top of numerous connections to the West via its strategic partnership with Turkish Airlines.
Flight to Tbilisi
IndiGo has started flying to the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). The airline began this service on August 8th. This is IndiGo’s 29th international and 107th overall destination. Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales at IndiGo, commented,
“We are delighted to commence the first direct flight between Delhi and Tbilisi, the captivating capital of Georgia. With this 29th International destination in our expanding network, we aim to bring India and Georgia closer, and open the two countries with a rich cultural and economic heritage for exploration.”
The Delhi-Tbilisi flight 6E 1807 departs at 20:10 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and reaches Tbilisi at 00:45 the next day. The Tbilisi-Delhi flight 6E 1808 flies from Georgia’s capital at 01:45 on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday and lands in Delhi at 07:10 on the same day.
New routes launched
IndiGo has launched some exciting routes in the last few days. Recently, it started flying to its first African destination in Nairobi, Kenya. Africa has traditionally not featured heavily on the network maps of Indian carriers. Passenger demand for non-stop flights to the continent is mainly met by African airlines, but things are changing gradually, and IndiGo’s service is part of that change.
On August 7th, IndiGo also operated its first flight to Jakarta from India’s commercial capital Mumbai. Jakarta is IndiGo’s 28th international and 106th overall destination. With this, IndiGo has also become the first airline to directly connect Mumbai with the Indonesian capital. The carrier will also start flying to Baku in Azerbaijan in a few days.
Going strong
IndiGo recently celebrated its 17th anniversary and marked a milestone by reaching 1,900 flights in a day. The figure is far more than that of any other airline in India and reflects IndiGo’s immense hold on the country’s domestic market.
The airline had just a handful of aircraft in 2006 when it began operating. Timely airplane orders over the years meant that its fleet development was sustainable and steady and reached the figure of 300 in January. With almost 1,000 planes on order, it will likely rule the Indian skies for many more years.
Photo: Rahul Sapra via Shutterstock
The budget carrier also enjoys a healthy balance sheet and reported its highest-ever quarterly profit for this year’s first quarter. IndiGo announced a net profit of almost ₹31 billion ($373 million) for the quarter ending in June. This was a massive shift from its financial results from the same period last year when it reported a net loss of ₹10 billion ($128 million).
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