‘We hope to fly abroad from Aug’

The 180-plane order, on the back of a pending order for 100 craft, strengthens IndiGo’s ties with Europe’s Airbus and is an indicator of the customer’s belief in his airline, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh told HT.

The 180-plane order, on the back of a pending order for 100 craft, strengthens IndiGo’s ties with Europe’s Airbus and is an indicator of the customer’s belief in his airline, IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh told HT. Excerpts:

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What does this deal mean to you in terms of the business roadmap?
The deliveries of the first 100 aircraft would finish by 2015 and this deal marks the next stage for us i.e. from 2016 to 2025. This is part of our plans for the next 10 years.

How will you finance the deal?
We have various options available and anyway six years is a long time. Our focus remains on growth and sound fundamentals.

Indigo will soon complete five years of domestic operations, a key requirement for flying overseas...
We are entitled to begin international operations from August this year and are very hopeful to do so.

There has been a lot of talk about the IPO.
Yes, but our immediate focus is to consolidate operations.

Indigo has become the country’s third largest airline...
Our philosophy is very simple. We have been concentrating on what the customer wants like on time departures, clean aircraft and good and clean flying experience. We plan to stick to these and not try anything funny.

You have decided to stick with Airbus.
We have had a good experience with Airbus. The range of the aircraft is perfect for operations in India, Middle East and other places.