The IndiGo Story: Inside the Upstart that Redefined Indian Aviation

by Shelley Vishwajeet

At the time IndiGo commenced operations, only two airlines from the early phase were still around—Jet Airways and Air Sahara. However, it was Air Deccan, India’s first low-cost airline, founded by Captain Gopinath, that was really making waves. Established in 2003, it had become the third largest domestic airline by the end of 2005, cornering around 19 per cent of market share. It was flying to 55 destinations and had a fleet size of 30 mixed type aircrafts. Air Deccan’s golden period was 2006–2007 when it experienced 42 per cent growth in passenger traffic over the previous year which made it the second largest airline in India. But its finances always remained stretched. The airline was also receiving increasing flak for its poor on-time performance and less than desirable customer service standards. In 2008, it was sold to Kingfisher. Vijay Mallya, the new owner, rebranded it as Kingfisher Red—an upmarket low-cost arm of Kingfisher Airline. ModiLuft, which began its operation in 1993, had been grounded by 1996. By 2004, it was taken over by a consortium of investors led by London-based Indian businessman Bhupendra Kansagra. Ajay Singh, the current promoter and CEO of SpiceJet, was also an important member of the team in its second innings. The new promoters rebranded ModiLuft as SpiceJet, a low-cost airline, which commenced operations in May 2005. Sahara Airlines, aka Air Sahara, which was amongst the early entrants in India had ambitious plans too, just like the group ...