Indigo and the 787!
Just as I predicted that Indigo, along with it’s newest chariot the A321XLR, could not fly further than Rome or Tokyo, I woke up to a shocker of a news that the airline was planning to lease around 6 787s from Norse Atlantic until the time it receives its A350s. Along with a sense of shock, I was ecstatic thinking about the prospects the airline had with the jet and where can it possibly fly!
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The usual suspects
As a rule of thumb for any Indian airline expanding abroad especially planning it’s initial few intercontinental destinations, London and Paris are the ones that come to mind. With strong traffic, these two are practically no brainers for any airline to start same is the case with Indigo. As soon as the 787 news came out, news that Indigo is planning LON/CDG came out instantaneously. Personally, these two are good destinations to start out with as despite the competition on these routes, demand and yields remain fairly strong. However, the question I have is, where in London? The most likely answer to this is LGW as it is looking to add more carriers given that Heathrow is severely slot constrained. STN can also be an alternate however at this point, Gatwick seems the most likely candidate. With that out of the way, lets move on to my other question, where will these routes operate from. DEL, although the largest airport, sees the most competition but due to it being Indigo’s largest hub seems a plausible candidate. BOM is severely slot restricted making the chances relatively low yet not completely eliminated. BLR can be a good opportunity as well for the airline, but because it is just starting out to ventute to these destinations, DEL might be their safest bet with BOM being a close 2nd.
Other Prospects
Apart from LON/FRA, it is tough to say which destinations Indigo might have an eye on to fly their 787s since the choices are endless. Frankfurt may be an option but due to AI already having a strong presence there with 2x daily flights along with having a star alliance partner Lufthansa, chances seem low. Tokyo may seem feasible, but it is better suited for the A321XLRs. USA/AUS flights may be ambitious but too big of a stretch for the densely configured jets. The UK and Europe may seem like a good catch with destinations like MAN and FCO being completely unserved. A feasable option for the airline is too add capacity to existing popular routes like DXB/SIN which may help the airline gain some competitive edge over AI on these popular routes. However, Indigo should begin LON/CDG and seeing the performance only then and there should start more routes.
Final thoughts
2025 might prove to be a game changer for Indigo’s International Network if and when these 787s arrive. The airline has multiple prospects with these jets but it is yet to be seen where we see them! Looking forward to see the 787s in Indigo colours!
