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Focused on expanding its fledgling long-haul network, IndiGo on Monday announced daily non-stop flights to London’s primary airport Heathrow from Mumbai starting October 26 using Boeing 787-9 aircraft the airline has taken on damp lease from Norse Atlantic. London’s Heathrow airport is Europe’s largest aviation hub and the world’s most connected airport.
After establishing dominance in Indian skies and building a dense short-haul international network over 18-plus years, the country’s largest airline IndiGo finally forayed into the long-haul segment early July. It launched non-stop flights to Manchester and Amsterdam from Mumbai early July, a milestone in its ambition to become a global airline by 2030 with its “internationalisation strategy” as a key cornerstone. The airline has since announced flights to Copenhagen—set to start this week—and Athens, which are slated to begin early January. Until IndiGo’s entry, Air India was the only Indian carrier operating flights to the UK and Europe.
“Entering Heathrow, a key global hub known for its scale and connectivity, is both a proud milestone and a strategic step forward in strengthening IndiGo’s global footprint. The India-United Kingdom corridor has long held significant relevance, not only because of strong bilateral ties, but also due to the growing traffic between the two countries driven by students, visiting friends and relatives, business and leisure travellers. After the outstanding response to our long-haul debut flights to Manchester, we are excited to set foot in London, offering more travel options for our customers while reinforcing our commitment to provide seamless connectivity between India and the world,” said IndiGo’s Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers.
IndiGo said that it is steadily pursuing its ambition of transforming into a global aviation player, “contributing to India’s vision to become one of the top global aviation hubs by 2030”. IndiGo has added nearly 40 new international destinations since 2015, with nearly 20 of those in just the last three years. Heathrow is IndiGo’s 45th international destination and 138th overall destination in the carrier’s expanding network. According to industry insiders, the airline has leased slots from Virgin Atlantic to operate to and from the slot-constrained Heathrow airport.
“Heathrow offers unparalleled global connectivity, making it a critical link for Indian travellers—both business and leisure. The airport’s central geographic location serves as a natural gateway to the UK, Europe, and transatlantic routes, and IndiGo’s entry into Heathrow is poised to offer smoother, more direct travel options for customers flying between India and western markets. The new service will also provide travellers from the west with seamless access to 90+ destinations across IndiGo’s extensive domestic network and many international destinations in South and South-east Asia, Central Asia etc.,” the airline said.
IndiGo also sees its codeshare partnerships with other international carriers as a tool for network development as it would help the airline study the traffic flows and demand and plan its own long-haul network densification over the coming years. Specific to IndiGo’s foray into the UK and Europe is the carrier’s recently announced partnership with Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France-KLM, which will help it offer connections to other points in Europe and the US from points that IndiGo would be flying to in Europe.
IndiGo sees significant potential in the international segment, given that Indian airlines account for 45 per cent of India’s international air passenger traffic, while overseas carriers account for around 55 per cent. In the case of India-Europe passenger traffic, overseas carriers have an even higher share of around 70 per cent.
The airline has also made adjustments to its product offering for long-haul operations. On its flights to and from Europe and the UK, the carrier offers complimentary hot meals to all flyers, which is a departure from its model of paid meals. It is also offering its business class product on its long-haul routes.
As part of its internationalisation strategy, IndiGo will induct the A321XLR aircraft and wide-body Airbus A350 planes to operate long-range international flights. But the carrier evidently did not want to wait for these aircraft to further fuel its international expansion, and therefore decided to enter the long-haul market using damp-leased Boeing 787-9 wide-body planes earlier this year.
