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IndiGo mulling Europe flights with ‘budget business’ pricing
Dominant Indian budget carrier IndiGo thinks it has the right pricing formula to make long haul Asia-Europe air travel profitable.
It is mooting affordable business class to lure travellers to Europe with one-stop connections.
CEO Ronojoy Dutta says a product overhaul away from a no-frills pricing model could be the answer.
"Once you get to six, seven, eight hours, the body gets tired, people need to use the washrooms more, people need to eat more frequently, all of those things change," Dutta said.
"We have to redesign our product. Is it more pitch, is it more food, is it more hot towels, is it a business class?"
The airline flies as far as Istanbul and would likely use that as a transit point to fly to Europe with London a possibility.
The long haul market from Asia has seen several casualties with Norwegian Air and AirAsia failinng to make money on routes to Europe due to high operational costs.
The airline is in talks with Airbus for long range narrow body jets and is contemplating a ‘large’ order Dutta said.
"The airline business is strongly segmented by the length of flying," he added.
"People’s expectations change a lot because the body demands change a lot."
The right price point is key as India is arguably the most price-sensitive market in the world.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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