IndiGo to launch Delhi-Doha flights this year
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IndiGo plans to launch a New Delhi-Doha flight this year. The Qatari capital is expected to be IndiGo's sixth overseas destination and its third in Gulf after Dubai and Muscat.
The airline has secured slots at Doha, but a launch date has not been finalised yet.
The carrier did not respond to an email query. However, a senior airline executive confirmed plans to launch flights to Doha, but added that the service will not begin immediately as its domestic market is expanding rapidly.
The choice of Doha as its new destination is also interesting as Indian airlines have underutilised traffic rights to Qatar.
Currently, Air India Express and Jet Airways fly to Doha. Qatar Airways flies to 13 cities in India and has been seeking additional flights to India. It has also repeatedly expressed interest to invest in IndiGo, which is the largest and most profitable Indian airline. IndiGo, which listed on the BSE in November, has denied news about stake sale to Qatar Airways.
"Delivery of Airbus A320neo has been delayed and IndiGo may be waiting for revised delivery schedule before taking a decision regarding Doha flight. Doha is well-connected from cities in South India and so a Delhi-Doha flight makes sense," an aviation analyst remarked.
At present, IndiGo flies 210 flights per week on foreign routes to Dubai, Muscat, Bangkok, Kathmandu and Singapore. Dubai is its largest overseas destination and it flies there from seven cities. IndiGo has a large domestic focus and thus number of overseas routes it flies is less in comparison to even SpiceJet, which flies to six overseas destinations. The airline earns about 10% of revenue from foreign operations. Last fiscal, its overseas flights contributed Rs 1,200 crore.
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