In some ways it feels like we are living in the era of the shit budget airline. Over the last decade their growth has been exponential, and it is far from just a European disease. Every region now has its own clone, all promising cheap flights, all delivering some variation of misery.
And while some budget carriers like AirAsia or Cebu Pacific have at least tried to make the experience bearable and in some cases even won awards, others really have not. IndiGo Airways is very much in the second camp. It is not award winning. It is not charming. What it is though is cheap, frequent, and increasingly unavoidable, especially now it has jumped on the newest trend of all: so called budget long haul.
Table of Contents
What the IndiGo Airways?
IndiGo Airways launched in 2006 and is operated by InterGlobe Aviation. It was founded by Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal with a simple, ruthless model: one aircraft type, fast turnarounds, no frills, and volume above all else. That model worked spectacularly well.
Today IndiGo is the largest airline in India by a country mile. It controls roughly 55 to 60 percent of the Indian domestic market depending on the month, which is borderline insane. The airline operates well over 1,800 flights a day and serves more than 80 domestic destinations and 30 plus international ones.
The fleet is massive and mostly uniform, consisting almost entirely of Airbus A320 family aircraft, with some ATR turboprops for regional routes. In total you are looking at around 350 aircraft either flying or on order, making IndiGo one of Airbus’s biggest customers globally.
In terms of safety, credit where it is due. IndiGo has never had a fatal accident. There have been minor incidents, technical diversions, and the usual operational nonsense, but nothing that would put it in the danger zone.
Ownership wise it is a publicly listed company, ruthlessly profit driven, and run like a logistics firm rather than a hospitality business. And that, honestly, tells you most of what you need to know.
Where can you fly on IndiGo?
IndiGo’s bread and butter is domestic India. If there is a city, town, or patch of concrete with an airport in India, IndiGo probably flies there multiple times a day. Now do not even get name started on IF you should go to India….
Internationally it covers South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and bits of Central Asia. Think places like Bangkok, Bali, Singapore, Kathmandu, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Tashkent, Almaty, and Tbilisi.
Recently IndiGo has also dipped its toe into longer haul routes by wet leasing widebody aircraft, most notably Boeing 777s, to operate flights that are well beyond what a standard budget airline would normally attempt. This is where things get interesting, and slightly weird.
What is it like flying on IndiGo long haul?
Short haul IndiGo is… fine. Not good, not horrific, just fine. It is much like Ryanair with less shouting and slightly more dignity. You get a seat, you get from A to B, and that is the contract.
Long haul is a different beast altogether.
First, credit where it is due. There is noticeably more legroom than you would expect. Not just compared to other budget airlines, but compared to a lot of so called full service carriers too. I could actually open my laptop properly and work, which is more than I can say for half the airlines flying Europe these days.
Then there is the food and drink situation, which is where the budget DNA really shows. IndiGo does not provide free food or drink as standard. On a one hour hop this is fine. On a six hour flight from Mumbai to Tbilisi it starts to feel a bit ridiculous.
On my initial flight from Bali to Mumbai I actually had to go and ask for water, which was eventually handed over. On the onward flight the cabin crew were more proactive and were visibly handing out water, suggesting even they know the rules start to fall apart once flights get long enough.
The staff themselves were, to be fair, pretty friendly. No forced smiles, no fake luxury nonsense, just competent and human. Apart from the food issue, it did not always feel like a classic budget airline experience, which is probably the nicest thing I can say about it.
Overall
Is IndiGo the worst budget airline in the world? No. Not even close. It is nowhere near the levels of misery that come with flying Dick Turpin Airlines in the UK, nor is it comparable to the psychological warfare that is a Jet2 holiday package.
Did I enjoy it? No.
Would I actively choose it? Also no.
Would I fly it again? Only if I had to, and emphasis very much on had to.
With hindsight, flying from Bali to Tbilisi, I should have gone via China rather than India. China is not pretending its airports are shopping malls built by children, and you can actually expect food on a long haul flight without having to beg for water like a Victorian orphan.
Harsh but fair, muggles. Harsh but fair.
Click to see my Sikkim Tours with YPT.