IndiGo Airlines

Founded in August 2006, IndiGo is one of India’s largest budget airline offering a high-quality experience to every passenger. This airline does not just provide low-cost airfares in the country. Its fares are low in global standards as well. It has been also awarded the Aon’s Best Employer consecutively in 2016 and 2017. Along with online flight booking, call centres and separate airport counters, there is an IndiGo app for Android making it the most preferable airline in India.
IndiGo has about 290 aircraft covering various domestic and international destinations. Airbus A320 CEO, Airbus A320 NEO, Airbus A321 NEO and ATR 72-600 are the aircraft that are now operated by the airline. The number of fleet A320 is 253, A321 NEO is 11 and ATR 72 is 26.

IndiGo airline allows you to carry a certain amount of weight in your luggage that differ according to different domestic and international destinations. For domestic flights, the maximum weight allowed for carry-on baggage is 7kg. Only 15kg of check-in baggage is allowed in domestic flights. The hand baggage allowance for IndiGo flights connecting Dhaka, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Phuket, Hanoi, Chengdu, Ho Chi Minh, Male and Kuala Lumpur is 7kg and check-in baggage allowance is 20kg. For Abu Dhabi, Yangon, Colombo, Hong Kong, Doha, Sharjah, Riyadh, Dubai and Muscat, the check-in baggage allowance is 30kg. The carry-on luggage allowance for these destinations is 7kg. For international destinations such as Brussels, Amsterdam and Athens with codeshare flights, the carry-on luggage allowed is 8kg and check-in baggage allowed is 30kg.
The dimensions for carry-on baggage should not exceed 55cmX35cmX25cm and for check-in baggage, the dimensions should not go beyond 158cm (62inch) in length, width and height. Additionally, IndiGo airline allows passengers to carry a women’s purse or a small laptop bag weighing not more than 3kg and a liquid container of 100ml in a transparent 1l plastic bag.
The hand baggage allowance for infants is up to 7kg for both domestic and international flights. Check-in baggage is not allowed for infants in domestic and international flights. However, one stroller or baby pram for each infant is allowed on board for free.
In case, there is a lack of space for the carry-on baggage to keep in the overhead cabin, the airline provides with the facility of retrieving it from the conveyor belt at the airport.

IndiGo flights connect to 82 destinations with 60 domestic and 22 international cities. Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dibrugarh, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are among the popular domestic destinations. The major international destinations include Dubai, Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok, Brussels and Budapest. There are direct and connecting flights covering popular domestic routes including New Delhi to Bengaluru, Chennai to Mumbai, Mumbai to New Delhi, Bengaluru to Hyderabad and Chennai to Hyderabad. There are frequent connecting flights available from New Delhi to Amsterdam, New Delhi to Athens, Mumbai to Bangkok and Chennai to Brussels.

Conditions of carriage vary according to sectors and depend on whether the flight is domestic or international. Bookings are the primary record of reservation in IndiGo’s database. The airline allows carriage only to the customer(s) named in the booking. IndiGo provides a printed itinerary with a PNR (Passenger’s Name Record) and details of the reservation. For international travel, the customer’s passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of travel, including a valid visa for all travellers including children and infants. IndiGo has the right to refuse carriage to passengers, basis luggage size, shape and weight and also safety and operational reasons. The rule also applies to international flights. On domestic flights, 15 kilos of checked-in baggage is allowed. And the dimensions of the baggage should not exceed more than 158 cms in length, width, and height as a whole. On international flights, 20 kilos of free check-in baggage and a maximum weight of 32 kilos is allowed.

Nationals of India, Bhutan, and Nepal are exempted from visa for travel between the three countries. Merchant Seamen who are nationals from India, Bhutan, and the Maldives do not require a visa as well. Customers who have Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Cards or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration certificate are also exempted from a pre-obtained visa.

Visa verification is done for travel to UAE, Oman, and Qatar. Customers who travel to Dubai are required to verify their visas. And passengers travelling to Qatar on Tourist/Employment visas are also expected to get their visas validated. All passengers with tourist visas must have a return ticket. As far as visas issued in India are concerned, if a visa is acquired from an agency or a service provider, one must provide his/her PNR and other relevant specifics to his/her visa issuing agency so can get OK to Board message inserted on the PNR.

IndiGo has the Airbus A320-200 CEO & NEO aircraft and the ATR 72-600 aircraft. The Airbus A320 has a seating capacity of 180, and the ATR Fleet has a seating capacity of 74 people. The airline offers a selection of snacks and beverages that are for sale onboard. Passengers are also allowed to bring their snacks and non- alcoholic beverages to the flights. IndiGo uses SMS (Short Messaging Service) to alert the passengers of potential flight delays. However, IndiGo maintains the right to cancel or delay a flight without prior notice. The customer’s right to refund will only be applicable if the flight gets rescheduled an hour before the original time or is delayed by two hours or more. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that customers provide a correct phone number and email address. Customers with Visa, Master, and Amex Cards can pay for their bookings with their credit or debit cards. Visa Debit Card customers are required to activate ‘Verified by Visa’ with their respective banks.

IndiGo aims to provide stress-free experience to their customers all along. Customers have access to information, customer care, etc. through the Indigo website or mobile application. A 24/7 IndiGo Call Centre is also available with the numbers: +91 99 10 38 38 38 or +91 124 6613838 Customers can also book their tickets at any IndiGo Airport Counter or through any travel agency. IndiGo often goes live with Sales where it provides special fares for certain sectors. As a norm, the airline does not accept personal cheques for payments. A mobile number is mandatory for booking a flight. It does not allow animals on its aircraft. Changes to the name, origin of travel and destination of travel are not allowed. Changes to date and time must be made two hours before the scheduled departure. With the difference in fare, passengers get a credit that can be applied to travel in IndiGo for twelve months from the date of issue or get a refund on their card.

Mr. Devdas Mallya Mangalore – He is the Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director of IndiGo and is currently serving on the board of some other organizations as well. His career spans over 36 years with substantial work experience in banks

Dr. Anupam Khanna – He is a Non-Executive Independent Director with the Airline and has served as the Chief Economist for Shell International in London and has also worked in World Bank.

Mr. Rahul Bhatia – He is a Promoter and Non-Executive Director. Rahul has more than 25 years of experience in the travel industry and is responsible for new business initiatives in IndiGo.

Mr. Rakesh Gangwal – He is an American citizen and a Promoter and Non-Executive Director at Indigo Airlines. He has more than 30 years of experience in the aviation industry. He was an Executive Vice President in Air France and also was the President and the Chief Operating Officer of US Airways Inc.

Ms. Rohini Bhatia – She is a Non-Executive Director with diverse experience in the travel industry. She is currently the director of InterGlobe Foundation, Navigator Travel Services Private Limited, and many others.

Mr. Devdas Mallya Mangalore – He is the Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director of IndiGo and is currently serving on the board of some other organizations as well. His career spans over 36 years with substantial work experience in banks

Mr. Aditya Ghosh – He is the President, Director and Head of Operations and Management at IndiGo. In the past, he has served as the General Counsel for InterGlobe Enterprises.

IndiGo’s flight schedule is subject to regulatory authority approvals and change(s) without prior notice. These are daily flights to Delhi from many sectors. The departure time from Ahmedabad to Delhi is 5:05 am and the arrival time is at 6:45 am. The departure time for the last flight from Ahmedabad is 10 pm and the arrival time in Delhi is 11:35 pm. The departure time from Bengaluru to Delhi is 4:00 am and the arrival time is 6:50 am. The departure time of the last flight from Bengaluru is 11:05 pm and the arrival time at Delhi is 1:55 am.

Agartala is a place where one can visit the Gondacherra Wildlife Sanctuary or the Jagannath Temple. There are two hotels where one can stay, namely, Ginger Hotel and Hotel Welcome Palace.
Ahmedabad is great during Makar Sankranti Festival, and there are many temples to visit. One can stay at Radisson Blu Hotel Ahmedabad or Novotel Ahmedabad.
Bengaluru has great weather. One can go to Cubbon Park or St. Mark’s Cathedral, and stay in Ibis Bengaluru City Centre or The Oberoi, Bengaluru.
If one enjoys music and poetry, he/she can visit Delhi, and see the wonderful Lotus Temple or Humayun’s Tomb and also stay in the Taj Palace Hotel or The Oberoi, Delhi.

IndiGo’s international reservation offices in Asia are in UAE (Dubai/Sharjah), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tokyo, Singapore, Kuwait, and Israel. In the United States, their reservation offices are in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Houston. In Canada, the offices are in Toronto and Vancouver.

IndiGo has been considered to be a ‘Great Place to Work for in India’ consecutively from 2008 to 2015. And it was also given the award of Aon’s Best Employer in 2016 and 2017.

The Airbus A320 is a one-class structure of the Economy class. One has to pay more for Emergency Exit Row seats.

Their low-cost is compared according to the global standard of low airfare. To make air travel easier for passengers, Indigo provides not only multichannel direct sales through online flight booking, call centers, and airport counters but also an IndiGo app for Android and IOS where one can check his/her flight status online.

The most common routes are Ahmedabad to Delhi, Ahmedabad to Mumbai, Bengaluru to Delhi and Kolkata to Bengaluru.

To maintain a higher level of customer service, IndiGo airlines has an ‘ifly’ facility that provides real-time training experience to recruits. IndiGo also provides their company staff with a healthy work-life balance so that they can stay highly motivated. This service is very people-friendly.

IndiGoReach is their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative focusing on raising the standards of children and education, women empowerment and also giving importance to the environment in all parts of the country even in areas where IndiGo services are not available, as they believe in the collective good of the people.