Skift Take

Already India’s largest airline, IndiGo is gearing up for even greater success. CEO Pieter Elbers tells Skift how he plans to do it.

Ajay Awtaney and Gordon Smith, Skift

As president and CEO of one of Europe’s most prestigious flag carriers, Pieter Elbers was at the top of his game. He successfully navigated Dutch airline KLM through the 2010s and the worst of the pandemic - it seemed like there was little he couldn’t do. 

So when it was announced in early 2022 that he wouldn't seek a third term as KLM chief, many expected him to take on an easier, if not cozy, new job somewhere. Elbers would be safe in the knowledge that his name was already made. 

What transpired was a totally different turn of events. The Dutchman was soon bound for Delhi to head up one of the country’s biggest businesses. This was a monumental challenge but an opportunity too good to resist for the aviation aficionado. 

No Ordinary Carrier

IndiGo is India’s largest airline by fleet size and one of Airbus’ biggest customers. It boasts more than half of the nation's total market share - no mean feat in the world’s most populous country. 

Elbers’ brief upon joining the airline was clear but colossal. He was to develop and execute a strategic plan to transform IndiGo into a global powerhouse. Central to this goal was international expansion, but not at the expense of domestic growth.

Speaking to Skift on the fringes of the Wings India 2024 event in Hyderabad, Elbers outlined how the intra-India growth opportunity remains huge. 

Last year, 153 million people traveled by air domestically in a country of more than 1.4 billion. By the end of the decade, this figure is expected to reach 300