AVGEEK
How IndiGo chooses routes and builds its next network
IndiGo’s then head of planning and revenue management explains how route selection, connecting traffic, aircraft and airport partnerships fit together. It is a practical view of the decisions behind an expanding network.
The conversation
The 40th episode of The Indian AvGeek features Abhijit DasGupta, the head of planning and revenue management at IndiGo. Abhijit details everything, from his background at Jet Airways to joining IndiGo & the first challenge he had.
We discussed how new routes are selected, decisions on fleet orders, working with airport marketing teams, lease operations with Turkish Airlines, the importance of connecting traffic, the involvement of Indian carriers in next-gen aircraft, premiumization strategy, DXN/NMI, hub development, XLRs, ACMI leases, Norse Atlantic 789s, what IndiGo of the future looks like, UDAN, Boeing!, IATA AGM 2025, and much more.
Vishal Mehra - @vishal1mehra
Key Takeaways
- Abhijit DasGupta described a recurring planning process: route ideas, economic screening, aircraft-and-slot optimisation, execution and performance feedback. Growth ambitions were linked to day-to-day planning and revenue decisions, not treated as a fixed route map.
- Connecting traffic changes the route case. At recording, DasGupta estimated that roughly 25–30% of IndiGo’s overall traffic connected, with a higher international share; that network figure is neither a current measurement nor a universal feed threshold for every route.
- Airport marketing and airline planning are a two-way exchange. Airlines can see connecting origin-and-destination patterns that an airport may miss, so useful route-development work combines the airport’s market evidence with the airline’s network view.
- Fleet orders, aircraft partnerships and lease choices support network plans, but range is only one consideration. Operating costs and secondary-market compatibility also matter for a leased fleet with substantial aircraft turnover.
- Premium products, new airports and hub development are connected parts of IndiGo’s network discussion. Noida and Navi Mumbai were considered opportunities to enlarge catchments, relieve constraints and improve transfers, not simply duplicate existing city capacity; these were strategic possibilities, not assured outcomes.
- Temporary ACMI widebodies can supply capacity and operational learning ahead of a permanent long-haul fleet. DasGupta’s discussion also acknowledged economics and supplier scarcity, so a temporary aircraft arrangement should not be equated with a settled long-term operating model.
- Short booking curves, low relative fares and price-stimulated demand complicate Indian revenue management. Adaptive forecasting and commercial judgement remain important; a demand forecast is not a guarantee that a new route or premium product will produce its intended return.
Editorial analysis
The allocation discipline behind every new route
The most revealing part of this IndiGo interview is not the 2025 route pipeline. It is the process by which a network planner turns imperfect market observations into an executable schedule. Abhijit DasGupta outlines a continuing loop: collect ideas from research, sales teams, airports and tourism agencies; subject them to demand and economics models; optimise them against aircraft availability, slots and airport constraints; distribute the schedule; and compare actual performance with the forecast. What looks publicly like a new route announcement is the end of a much more iterative allocation exercise.
Connections, slots and operational constraints
That distinction becomes critical when evaluating hub strategy. DasGupta says roughly one-quarter to 30% of IndiGo’s traffic was connecting at the time, with a larger share on international sectors. He explicitly declines more detailed disclosure and rejects any universal connecting-traffic minimum. A successful route could be predominantly point-to-point or rely heavily on feed, depending on the local market, season, costs and geographic network. New airport capacity at Noida and Navi Mumbai offers both fresh local catchment and a chance to redirect connecting flows; the airports are not merely additional terminals.
Why the fleet and network must evolve together
Fleet evolution and the long-haul ambition then follow from commercial arithmetic. Aircraft types are evaluated jointly by planning and technical specialists. DasGupta emphasises that high aircraft turnover also demands secondary-market remarketability, limiting how customised an aircraft can sensibly be. IndiGo’s then-current ACMI aircraft served as stopgap capacity and a rehearsal for international selling, seasonality and more complex revenue management before permanent A350 capacity arrived. The relationship between fares, short booking windows and a highly stimulable market suggests why traditional revenue forecasts are not sufficient: new routes can themselves change the underlying demand.
Questions & answers
How does route selection work?
Collect ideas, assess their economics, optimise capacity and slots, launch and feed results into the next round.
What information passes between an airline and airports?
Airports offer local intelligence, while airlines see transfer flows and aircraft opportunities unavailable to the airport alone.
How important is connecting traffic?
It is material overall but highly variable by route; he gives an aggregate estimate while withholding granular breakdowns.
How are fleet choices made?
Commercial and technical teams jointly balance opportunity, aircraft performance and resale/lease flexibility.
What did ACMI aircraft contribute?
Faster capacity and gradual long-haul organisational capability building.
Sources & attribution
Original conversation: The Indian AvGeek — Episode 40. Originally published 18 May 2025.
Historical context: This analysis reflects statements and assessments made during the original 2025 conversation. Strategies, forecasts, regulations, commercial claims and figures should be read in that period rather than as an independently verified account of October 2026.
Editorial Q&A: These are sourced explanatory paraphrases, not verbatim quotations from the guest.
Interpretation note: Forward-looking statements and market comparisons are attributed to the speakers’ contemporary arguments rather than asserted as established outcomes.