ABOUT THE COMPANY

I. IndiGo airline is a privately-owned company founded by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe and Rakesh
Gangwal, a United States-based expatriate Indian in 2006.
II. IndiGo has become India’s largest passenger airline with a market share of 47.5% as on
December 2019.
III. The airlines primarily operate as domestic air travel as a low-cost carrier with focus on 3 pillars –
offering low fares, being on-time and delivering a courteous and hassle-free experience.
IV. IndiGo has become synonymous with being on-time.
V. Airline has grown from a carrier with one plane to a fleet of 257 aircraft (97 new generation
A320 NEOs, 123 A320 CEOs, 25 ATRs AND 12 A321 NEO). It has a total destination count of 87
with 63 domestic destination and 24 International.
VI. IndiGo can be recognized with OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE value driven business.
VII. Indigo has won numerous awards for its operational excellence:

 Best low-cost carrier by the Airline Passengers Association of India (2007)

 Best low-cost carrier at the Galileo Express Travel Awards (2008)
 Best low-cost airline by CNBC Awaaz (2009, 2013)
 Best low-cost carrier in C Asia/ India by SKYTRAX (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
 Best LCC Aviation award for excellence by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (2015)
 IndiGo wins Airbus’ Best Operational Excellence Award 2012-2013
 Recognized as ‘Great Place to Work for in India’ for 8 years in a row (2008-2015)
 Named as Aon’s Best Employer for the year 2016 and 2017.

WHAT IS OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE?

1. The companies with this discipline win through delivering better value and reliability.
2. They have lower costs than other competitors and the costs are driven by simplification,
standardization and economies of scale.
3. These organizations run on efficient lean processes with reliable quality and dependable
delivery.
4. They also offer the best combination of price and performance, though their products and
services will be better than the competitors.

Key areas that can help to measure how well an organization are:
1. Costs: analyze and adjust processes and products to facilitate the cost-effective delivery
2. Quality: detect, understand and remove problems through processes, products and services that
have impact before and after delivery.
 3. Organizational performance: improve processes and automation to maintain efficiency for
speed and hassle-free delivery.

Principles that guide operational excellence:

1. Efficient management of people: developing a culture and training focused on efficient and low-
cost ways of doing things.
2. Management of efficient transactions: being able to maximize the efficiency of all facets of a
transaction, including the full supply chain.
3. Dedication to measurement systems: focus on quality and cost control, managing customer
expectations by limiting products and services.
HOW INDIGO ACHIEVES OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE?
The brilliance of this budget airline is because of the business model and its execution. The company’s
operating model directly supports and enables the three elements of business model- Low fares, Flights
on time and hassle-free experience of customer.

OPERATING MODEL ELEMENTS

1. STANDARDISED AIRPLAIN CONFIGURATION

i. Majority of the planes used by IndiGo are Airbus A320, which are bought in orders of 10-200,
forming some of Airbus’s largest single deals. These bulk orders ensure favorable terms.
ii. Pilots, flight crew, mechanics need to be certified for only one aircraft.
iii. Using Airbus A320 neo helps to gain 15% fuel efficiency and saves 8% operational expenses.
iv. They also use airplane taxi to terminal with one engine, shutting down the second engine to
save fuel.
v. Lower fares through lowered costs and flights are on time with more optimized
maintenance/flight crew.
2. LEASE PLANES INSTEAD OF PURCHASE

i. After the delivery, IndiGo immediately sells the plane to an aircraft lessor, and hen leases the
plane back. This allows for it to have one of the youngest fleets in the world (Avg. 3.26 years)
ii. This model helps to maintain high cash flow and low debt.
iii. IndiGo maintains newer planes which does not require regular checks and major repairs saving
on the maintenance cost. Major checks are usually required for above eight-year-old fleets,
however IndiGo maintains six-year-fleet.
iv. Lower fares though better economics and reduced fuel costs is delivered. A hassle-free
experience because of lesser breakdowns or delays.

3. NO NON-CORE OFFERINGS
i. IndiGo doesn’t offer airport lounges and business class tickets.
ii. No loyalty programs are offered by the airlines.
iii. No frills services like hot meals or entertainment.
iv. Travelers are asked to dispose their garbage on their own while leaving the craft.
v. Low fares with low operating costs and flights on time with lower turn-around time.

4 FLIES MORE BUT ON FEWER DESTINATIONS

i. Destinations of Indigo are connected to at least two cities and majority of them are connected
to three destinations.
ii. It operates lesser number of f=destinations with higher frequency- 2.2 planes/destination.
iii. It saves airport charges and provides better per plane per hour aircraft utilization of above 11.5.
iv. Lower fares because of lower fixed cost and lower airport charges. And flights are on time with
more controlled Turn Around time.
5. USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR INCREASED CONTROL AND EFFICIENCY
i. Planes are equipped with ACARS, that enables exact and real time monitoring by the IndiGo
Operations control Centre. This helps to upgrade their performance using data analytics.
ii. Introduced Digital Air Bags with iPad and digital tools that helps pilots improve the operational
performance.
iii. They have a BI platform that clearly defines KPI for all stakeholders to make data driven
decisions and to enhance operations across organizations.
iv. First airline to use qbuster scanners for passengers travelling without check-in luggage.
v. Flights on time with controlled monitoring and hassle-free experience because of scanners.

6. FOCUS ON TRAINING AND STANDARDIZED PROCESS

i. Specialized iFly Learning and Development Centre where staff is trained, and the processes are
standardized to improve continuously- known to be best in India.
ii. Only airline to use slopping ramp instead of stairs for entry and exit of passengers to save cost
and time.
iii. All this helps in having a Lower turn Around time by 30-35 min.

7. FOCUS ON SECONDARY PRODUCT OFFERINGS

i. The team employs resources into quirky cold food offerings e.g. traditional bun dish, step free
handicap accessible boarding ramps, creatively designed air sickness bags, reusable cookie tins
etc.
ii. A courteous experience with focus on ergonomics.