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Case Study: Indigo Profitability and Digitization Efforts During

COVID-19 Times

Company Background

IndiGo is India’s largest passenger airline with a market share of 59.4% as of August 2020. It
primarily operates in India’s domestic air travel market as a low-cost carrier with focus on
our three pillars—offering low fares, being on-time and delivering a courteous and hassle-
free experience. IndiGo has become synonymous with being on-time. 1

Since our inception in August 2006, Indigo have grown from a carrier with one plane to a
fleet of 280 aircraft today. A uniform fleet for each type of operation, high operational
reliability and an award-winning service make us one of the most reliable airlines in the
world. IndiGo has a total destination count of 87 with 63 domestic destinations and 24
International.

The Preferred Airline

IndiGo is not only the most efficient low fare operator domestically but is also comparable
with global low-cost airlines. Indigo are constantly enhancing our engagement with our
passengers to augment their travel experience. From multichannel direct sales
(including online flight booking, call centres and airport counters), to online flight status
checking, an exclusive IndiGo app for Android, Indigo have transformed air travel in India.
Today, Indigo are India’s most preferred airline. At IndiGo, low fares come with high quality.

Great Place to Work

Being courteous and hassle free starts with being a hassle-free place to work. A highly
engaged and motivated workforce leads to higher levels of customer service. Our state-of-
the-art ‘ifly’ facility is designed to deliver a real-time training experience to all our new
recruits. This training facility is one the best aviation training facilities in India. With our
people-friendly culture at the heart of all Indigo do, Indigo continuously help the company

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https://www.goindigo.in/about-us.html
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staff find work-life balance. Ten years in a row, IndiGo continues to be amongst the best
organizations to work for in India and has been named “Aon’s Best Employer, 2017.”

IndiGoReach

Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative IndiGoReach focuses on three broad
themes: Children and Education, Women Empowerment and Environment. Indigo work
towards upliftment of communities not just around us but also far-flung areas in the
country. After all, India’s holistic progress is rooted in the collective aspirations of its people.

Facts and Figures

• 1500 Daily flights
• 63 Domestic Destinations
• 24 International Destinations
• 300+ Million happy customers
• 280 Fleet tall
• 10 consecutive years of Profitable operations
• Market share of 59.4% as of August 2020.
• Fleet of 280 aircraft including 116 new generation A320 NEOs, 115 A320 CEOs, 25
ATRs and 24 A321 NEO.
• 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

COVID-19 Strikes
In March 20202, The COVID-19 struck the world. The pandemic was unprecedented for the
global economy. In the history of the Indian economy too, a major crisis like this is few and
far between. Even though it is still far from over, the pandemic has claimed casualties across
many sectors, and aviation is no different. Indigo suffered much and its leadership team
took several measures to overcome the crisis.
You may refer to the annual report of Indigo (Financial year 2019-20) publicly available.

Questions
1. The profit margin in the financial year 2019-20 was -0.7% (negative 0.7%) whereas in
the year 2018-19 it was 0.6% (positive 0.6%). This was despite the number of flights
in 2019-20 being 16.47% higher than in 2018-19. What could be the reasons for this?
2. What cost-cutting measures were taken after COVID-19 struck?
3. Which digitization measures were taken to go “touchless” service experience to
reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection for both the customers and employees?
4. Which government measures helped or hurt Indigo after Covid-19?