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IndiGo, the Delhi-based low-cost airline, plans to launch ten new domestic and international routes, Peter Elbers, its Chief Executive Officer, told the Economic Times on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s Annual General Meeting in Dubai.
The largest circulated Indian economic daily newspaper quoted the CEO saying that the airline will add Mauritius and one more city in Thailand.
The decision to launch more flights to Thailand comes as the Indian and Thai governments enhance the number of flights the airlines can operate and the cities in Thailand to which Indian carriers can operate. The new agreement was signed in March this year.
The two governments agreed to increase the current entitlement of 32,000 seats per week. The increase will be made in phases, with 7,000 seats added in each phase.
Thailand has also agreed to open four new destinations for Indian carriers — Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Surat Thani, and Udon Thani.
The existing 32,000 weekly seats also include those allocated to Go First, which has now stopped operations. These seats have not been reassigned to other Indian carriers. All Indian carriers except SpiceJet are operating all the seats allocated to them.
Mauritius will be a new country where IndiGo will operate as and when the service is launched. Since Elbers took over, IndiGo has launched many domestic and international routes. On the global front, IndiGo has connected India to Nairobi, Jakarta, and Ras Al Khaimah, which were all new international destinations for the airline and its passengers.
In addition, the airline also announced a codeshare partnership with Japan Airlines on June 3. The targeted time frame to start the codeshare agreement is Winter Scheduled 2024, effective in October this year. The codeshare agreement will be to 14 Indian destinations that connect to JAL-operated Tokyo-India flights, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, and Kochi. JAL flies to Delhi and Bengaluru.
On March 31 this year, IndiGo had a fleet of 367 aircraft, including 31 A320 CEOs, 192 A320 NEOs, 94 A321 NEOs, 45 ATRs, 3 A321 freighters, and 2 B777s (damp lease). Its recent order signals big international growth plans.
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