MAKING A GLOBAL AVIATION GIANT

Under CEO Pieter Elbers, India's biggest airline by market share, IndiGo, is betting big on international routes for the next phase of growth

- BY RICHA SHARMA

INDIA IS IN A HURRY and so is IndiGo, chuckles Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer of India's biggest airline, as he outlines the company's trajectory for 2030. The Netherlands-born Elbers, who will complete three years at IndiGo this August, points at some numbers-orders for 950 aircraft, 113 million customers ferried to 126 destinations in 2024-as he talks about the airline's growth story.

The winner of the Glocal CEO Award in BT-PwC’s Best CEOs 2025 list, 54-year-old Elbers is clear that the next goal is to make IndiGo a global aviation giant in the next six years.

“I would say it is very much in hand with the growth of India. If India becomes the third-largest economy in the world by 2027, it deserves airlines matching the size, scale, and opportunity. IndiGo is determined to be the airline reflecting that growth,” Elbers tells BT, sporting an IndiGo coat pin on his royal blue Nehru Jacket.

IndiGo’s increasing clout is evident from the fact that it will host the 81st International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Annual General Meeting in New Delhi from June 8 to 10. The meeting is being held in the country after 40 years, says Elbers, adding that it is time to highlight the growth of Indian aviation.

It has been a phenomenal journey for IndiGo, which turned 18 last year. The company has been reporting growth for last seven quarters, except the second quarter of FY25, despite facing supply chain challenges, grounded aircraft, depreciation of the rupee, and delay in aircraft deliveries. The airline has also emerged from a trying period; it saw losses for five consecutive financial years, before turning in a profit in FY24.

IndiGo has managed this turnaround at a time when the Indian aviation industry has seen many airlines go off the radar due to losses.