Ronojoy Dutta (File photo)
IndiGo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ronojoy Dutta said that the airline believes the worst phase during the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
"We are fit & in great form, ready for the future. Middle of May was the worst period for us, believe that the worst is behind us now," he told CNBC-TV18.
While the airline's revenues and bookings are still linked to the number of Covid cases in India, the CEO of India's largest airline believes that the company has tried to become better at everything they do, during the period of lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
Dutta said that the company's bookings fell from around Rs 100 crores a day pre-COVID to around Rs 15 crore per day in the middle of May and are currently around Rs 28-30 crore a day.
However, he expects the airlines' revenues to be back to around 80% of their pre-COVID levels by the end of the year. Dutta hopes the government will lift all caps on airline capacity and seat fare pricing by the end of July and COVID-19 cases will also drop by then. He also requested the government to lower tax rates for the aviation sector and remove the fare cap on a seating capacity and seat fare pricing.
Dutta said that while seat fares have been slowly rising, the passenger load factor of airlines is still quite low, but is expected to recover soon.
The airlines' international markets, however, are frozen at the moment with COVID-19 cases in India still very high.
"(IndiGo is) anxious for the international market to open up, no visibility yet...We are focussing on the domestic market. Once the Indian numbers come down, other governments will also welcome additional flights," Dutta said, adding the airline was constantly working with the International Air Transport Association for long-term procedures.
Dutta said that Interglobe Aviation Ltd run IndiGo airline is currently focusing on remaining cash positive.
"Have a number in mind w.r.t. minimum cash to be maintained at all times. Communication w.r.t. leave without pay, cutbacks, etc was communicated very well to employees," Dutta said. He added that IndiGo's employees have been very mature with cost-cutting measures.
Speaking about the airline's plans to raise Rs 3,000 crore, Dutta said that the fund raising was not something IndiGo desperately needs but it was to ward off any future shocks.
IndiGo is also looking to phase out the older inefficient aircraft, bringing in Neos & the A-321 planes, which are much more efficient, to drive fuel consumption. The airline's fuel consumption, which is its biggest cost item, is down 10% on year, Dutta said.
"We are getting rid of A320ceos at rate of 50 aircraft per year and replacing old ceos with neos," Dutta said. He indicated that while the airline's fleet count is likely to remain the same, its fleet efficiency will be more going forward.
Revenues from the company's cargo segment are also up 10% on year, Dutta said, adding that the cargo market for wide-body aircraft was shrinking and IndiGo is also shifting to narrow-body aircraft for its cargo operations.
"We are ordering 4 freighter aircraft, cargo is a good story for us," Dutta said.
The chartering of flights has also been a good new source of revenues for IndiGo, both domestically & internationally, Dutta said.
While addressing the arbitration between the promoters of InterGlobe Aviation, Dutta said that there has been no noteworthy movement in arbitration.
He added that hearings are over in London in the arbitration case between its two promoters, and the outcome is not awaited. Dutta said that arbitration between promoters has no impact on the business.
'Believe that the worst is behind us now', says IndiGo's Ronojoy Dutta - Moneycontrol
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