Summary
- IndiGo is considering introducing a premium cabin on a few of its planes, with 4 rows of seats and additional legroom, in an effort to cater to high-end leisure travelers and small business owners.
- The airline, which currently dominates the domestic market, goals to expand its international ambitions with a premium product at lower fares in comparison with other full-service airlines.
When traveling with India’s low-cost carrier, IndiGo, one knows what to anticipate. A no-frills experience on a good airline that gets you from point A to B on time. The seats could be tight, and there’s no complimentary meal service, but mostly reasonable fares and on-time performance make up for that.
But a recent report suggests that the airline might be heading for a major departure from its current single-cabin model by introducing a premium cabin on a few of its planes.
Premium cabins on IndiGo planes?
IndiGo could soon have a premium class on a few of its planes. A report by The Economic Times states that the carrier plans to have a two-class layout on a few of its Airbus A321 planes by the top of next yr. People aware of the matter have informed that the budget carrier could depart from its traditional one-class model and have 4 rows of seats with extra legroom of around 36 inches.
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In fact, because of this IndiGo may even need to have separate fares for these seats and is claimed to be within the technique of determining how much it could charge for a premium cabin ticket. IndiGo’s CEO had earlier stated that they’re open to all possibilities, especially because the carrier expands its offerings to many offshore destinations. He commented,
International routes
While IndiGo has won a loyal customer base in India who swear by its service and make the most of its vast network and no-frills approach to travel, it feels the necessity to change its model somewhat for its longer international routes.
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The airline already has several long-range Airbus A321XLRs on order for potentially flying to long-haul destinations in Europe and the Far East. But many wonder how effective a low-cost approach on a narrowbody long-haul flight could be. IndiGo has, in truth, been contemplating getting business class seats on its XLRs.
Competing with Air India?
For the longest time, IndiGo’s position within the country was largely unchallenged. One could argue that, at almost 64% of the domestic market share, that hasn’t modified much. But with a renewed Air India backed by the likes of the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, IndiGo perhaps feels a growing challenge to its position.
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The low-cost airline believes that with its solid command over the domestic market, it could leverage that position to expand its international ambitions, too – a territory that Air India currently dominates, at the least for the long-haul sector.
Sources have also revealed that IndiGo desires to cater to a piece of It stays to be seen how this plays out next yr.
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