India-Singapore air passenger traffic has potential for further growth without competing airlines eating into each other’s market share, according to IndiGo President, Mr Aditya Ghosh.
“I really, truly believe the market will expand, so I’m not sure that we’re looking at eating market share from anyone,” The Straits Times quoted Mr Ghosh as saying ahead of the budget class carrier commencing flights to Singapore from September.
The India-Singapore route recorded a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic to 5.1 million last year, according to statistics from the Changi Airport Group.
Mr Ghosh said IndiGo will offer a fundamentally different product from other airlines operating on India-Singapore route.
IndiGo will not offer in-flight entertainment and lounges and passengers will have to pay for food, drinks and other amenities on board.
“With our fair levels, we’ll attract a different market,” he said.
The airline will kick off operations to Singapore on September 15, with a Delhi-Singapore return ticket priced at S$276. Comparatively, full-service airlines charges between S$700 and S$1,000 for the same route.
After Delhi, IndiGo will operate a Mumbai-Singapore flight from October, followed by Chennai and Bangalore flights to the city state from early next year.
The India-Singapore route is served by eight airlines operating 352 weekly flights to 11 destinations, including Delhi and Mumbai. The airlines include Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Qantas.