The Indigo fiasco that unfolded on 2 December 2025 was inevitable as it became an aviation whale enjoying a monopoly on Indian airspace with 64% of the market share in terms of passenger traffic. Lakhs of passengers were left stranded due to the cancellation of thousands of flights. Tempers flared, the media went berserk, asking for the head of Indigo CEO to be chopped, some blaming inaction on the part of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and casting aspersions on the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
People missed their parents’ funeral or the wedding in the family or of their childhood friends, some missed their interviews or business schedules and a host of other important reasons. But these are mere statistics. The DGCA instructed Indigo to accelerate refunds, but it is not just the cost of the flight ticket that matters. What about the cab fare to and from the airport, last-minute booking cancellations or rebooking accommodation? And we are not even quantifying the loss of human time of grief, unattended or missed commitments. Who is to be blamed? To understand the crisis, a little background is required.
A joint venture of Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, Indigo started its groundwork during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2004, which saved them from shelling down hundreds of crores under the table. The timing was perfect, and with their rich experience in the aviation industry, having worked in United Airlines of the USA, they unleashed a business model that monopolised Indian skies and made it a profit-making airline. I list a few reasons that contributed to their success story.
- i) Aircraft purchase: In 2005, one year before the launch of IndiGo Airlines, an order for 100 A320s was placed with Airbus. For placing such a bulk order, they got a hefty discount of over 30%. The decision to purchase only one model of aircraft also helped in maintenance cost and interchangeability of pilots, spare parts, technicians, etc.
- ii) SLB Model: A Sale-Lease-Back model was adopted, where Indigo sold new aircraft to international leasing companies right after delivery to generate cash flow and then leased them back to operate. This way it was cash-rich even before operating a single flight. This model was key to their early growth, allowing them to quickly expand with brand new planes without huge debts.
iii) Operation and Maintenance costs: The SLB model kept the Indigo fleet extremely young as newer planes are more fuel efficient and require less maintenance in terms of spares. Indigo leases aircraft for 3 to 6 years before the aircraft start showing signs of wear and tear and require a D Check, keeping maintenance costs significantly low. A D Check, or Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV), is the most extensive and costly aircraft inspection, happening every 6-10 years, involving complete disassembly, detailed structural inspection, even removing paint, and overhaul of nearly every component, including engines, landing gear, and cabin, to ensure long-term airworthiness, often taking months and millions of dollars.
- iv) Pricing and Service: Indigo has established the model of a low-cost cost no-frill airline in a country that celebrates a successful booking in IRCTC; this is no mean achievement. When it debuted, it offered fares that were unheard of and made it affordable to every common man. Now every other airline is trying to match it, because people just won’t buy a costlier ticket. Their connectivity is also marvellous as they connect Guwahati with Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram with Lucknow, Patna with Hyderabad, and other similar routes. Indigo has explored all the unexplored routes in the whole of India. Their USP is punctuality, and they make sure that they are consistent with no delays or cancellations. For this, they play little tricks like giving longer flying times in their schedules and arriving before time or opening the exit doors a bit later after landing, facilitating early arrival of the baggage on the belt.
- v) No competition: Over the years, there has been no new successful entrant in the market. The folding up of Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Deccan, and several lesser-known airlines, and restructuring of some of them, like Air Asia, GoAir, and SpiceJet jet which is on life support for years, there is absolutely no competition to Indigo. Air India, though running into losses, is somehow managing its 25% market share of passengers. But all these airlines fade away in comparison to Indigo’s punctuality, pricing, and services. So, the Indigo monopoly is not surprising.
After explaining the reasons for the monopoly of Indigo, it is necessary to point out as to how it has taken passengers for a ride in terms of comfort, exploiting the weakness of people in terms of pricing. It has somehow managed to decode the unit economics for a market as extremely price-sensitive as India. They have slowly squeezed everything they can. The Airbus A320 is designed for 30 rows. Some Indigo flights now have 36-38 rows. The seats are so close that even an average man of 5’8″ can’t sit comfortably. The cushions are nonexistent. The armrest hurts so much that you need to keep your neck pillow on it to be able to use it. The whole flying experience has been made as uncomfortable as possible over the years just for lower fares.
So, when the DGCA came up with the new rules about pilots and crew resting time and other issues in March 2024 that are essential for the safety of the passengers, Indigo did not care for compliance as they knew that competition is non-existent and it can arm twist the regulator to roll back the changes in the rules by cancelling thousands of flights putting lakhs to discomfort.
The point is, why a traveller who spends his hard-earned money put up with such inconvenience? Indigo had 18 months to comply with the rules, and the DGCA had 18 “EFFING months” to thoroughly audit its aviation fleet that serves two-thirds of the air traffic to ensure they were ready for compliance. Both of them failed the passengers. Just to explain, “EFFING months” refers to a common expression of frustration about time passing quickly, often used in contexts like tax filing dates, “only two effing months left to file!” or mourning loss of some close like, “six effing months since you left” and some unprintable examples!
DGCA needs to clean up this mess and address the systemic issues in the long term. While monopolies are good for no one except for the ones who own them, Indigo should not be let off the hook with a light slap on the wrist like 10% cancellation of their winter schedule or some soft punishment. DGCA needs to take a serious view of the functioning of Indigo in terms of its pilots and crew, fuel rationing, safety of passengers and capping the pricing to a reasonable limit.
Very often when I travel, I come across a display board displaying “Your satisfaction is our priority”. My advice to Indigo is please own up to the phrase as you have done all the hard work and come to this position, don’t let it go to satisfy your greed. Remember what Gandhi said, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by allowing us to do so.”. Ironically, the announcement in Indigo airlines these days has changed from addressing “passengers” as “customers” while referring to travellers. Did anyone notice?
