IndiGo taking ‘range of measures’ to deal with grounded aircraft: CEO

The country’s largest airline, IndiGo, has told shareholders that it is taking a range of mitigating measures to deal with the situation arising out of grounded aircraft and it is working hard to have a positive net worth for the company again.

Speaking to shareholders at the 20th annual general meeting of InterGlobe Aviation on Thursday (August 24), CEO Pieter Elbers also said IndiGo aims to “welcome 100 million customers” in this financial year.

InterGlobe Aviation is the parent of IndiGo, which has more than 63 per cent domestic market share and is also focusing on internationalisation of its operations. The airline operates more than 300 planes, and has nearly 1,000 aircraft on order.

“Range of mitigating measures”

In response to a shareholder’s query about Aircraft on Ground (AOG), Elbers said a whole range of mitigating measures are being taken to address the situation, including cooperation with Turkish Airlines.

“AOG is being dealt with a whole range of mitigating measures. These measures were announced at the end of last year and have been effective in order to make sure that we deliver our capacity guidance that we provided to the market and shareholders earlier,” the IndiGo CEO said.

He did not provide the number of planes on the ground.

On August 2, Elbers, during a call with analysts to discuss the June quarter results, had said the number of aircraft impacted by the supply-chain challenge issues was in the high thirties. “I would actually label it now around 40,” he added.

Planes have been grounded due to engine issues.

At the end of June, IndiGo had a fleet of 316 planes, including 166 A320neos, 87 A321neos, and two planes on wet lease.

“Very strong balance sheet”

While responding to a shareholder’s query related to the company’s balance sheet, IndiGo CFO Gaurav Negi said pre-Covid, it had a very strong balance sheet and, after being severely impacted by COVID, the net worth went into the negative.

“The company is making a lot of efforts in order to ensure that the negative net worth comes back into the black. The last three quarters have been profitable, which has strengthened the balance sheet, and we continue to work hard to come back to the positive net worth and continue to repair the balance sheet that was impacted largely by COVID,” he said.

For the June quarter, IndiGo reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of Rs 3,090.6 crore on the back of strong operational performance and favourable market conditions.

The carrier also posted its highest-ever quarterly total income of Rs 17,160.9 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Meanwhile, Elbers said there will be a steady flow of aircraft coming in between today and the middle of the next decade that will help in long-term planning.