Indigo deliberate collapse

[MechEng]

18 hours ago, zen said:

Below are my back of the napkin margin calculations for Indigo: 

 

Revenues: 100

Gross margin: 10

Net margin: 5 (maybe even less than 5)

Pilot salaries: 10-20

Other operating expenses: 80-90

 

Additional pilot salaries (and training expenses) to meet new regulation = say roughly 5 

Therefore, net margin of Indigo if it hires 33% additional pilots: 0

 

What it means of air travelers is eventually more expensive fares. 
 

In a way, Indigo has earned the right to kick  babus and politicians arses.

 

 

 

This is exactly what it is- back of napkin calculations only.

 

Why wasn't this brought to the DGCA back in 2024 itself? They could have made it clear that they won't be hiring instead of deliberately creating chaos.

[ravishingravi]

 

[ravishingravi]

More I learn about this, more I understand. Aviation industry is corrupt to the core. And it is so muddled that you wouldn't know who is avenging for what. 

 

However. Here is the thing. I don't care what is bottomline impact. If Airline is willing to compromise on passenger safety by compromising on rest for Pilot. An amendment brought about by pilots association when they approached the court in 2012. 

 

The amendment was known 18 months in advance. Min rest criteria has absolutely killed the pilots. I say this as someone related to pilots. Doesn't change absolute corruption in DGCA. 

[Lord]

12 minutes ago, ravishingravi said:

 

 

Hit the nail on the head.

 

What Indigo pulled off is criminal, surprised some are defending them. They need penalties not bailout

[Mariyam]

14 hours ago, putrevus said:

Plus are  there any studies done anywhere by Indian government that the pilots who are having rest hours like Indigo are prone to cause accidents.

 

How are low cost airlines in Europe operating.

Yes. There are studies done by the DGCA and by the US Federal Aviation where they tracked last 40-50 commercial airline crashes in the world (most are in Asia and Africa) and saw that most of them had pilots who had gone on for 14+ hours without sleep.

And that their response time was generally slower.

 

Before you compare Indigo to Ryan Air, let’s just talk about Indgio on their international flights:

This is the most profitable (in terms of %return) arm of their business.

OVER HERE they have to follow all kinds of rules, including the one on pilots resting and Pilot rotation. Indigo planes that fly to  Singapore/Dubai/Phuket have a small alcove where pilots can sleep. Their domestic planes don’t. Instead that space is turned into an extra seat for the passengers.

 

There really is no excuse.

 

 

[zen]

5 hours ago, MechEng said:

 

This is exactly what it is- back of napkin calculations only.

 

Why wasn't this brought to the DGCA back in 2024 itself? They could have made it clear that they won't be hiring instead of deliberately creating chaos.

What do you mean why X or Y wasn’t brought up? GOI does not make rules based on profitability of airlines, does it? GOI initiative could be done to curtail airlines like Indigo? Give those opened up slots to other airlines 
 

Experienced global travelers are aware of airline related chaos. It is usually the infrequent holiday or seasonal travelers that find it discomforting, along with the fact that other airlines increased their fares substantially to increase the misery. 

 

 

 

[zen]

4 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Yes. There are studies done by the DGCA and by the US Federal Aviation where they tracked last 40-50 commercial airline crashes in the world (most are in Asia and Africa) and saw that most of them had pilots who had gone on for 14+ hours without sleep.

And that their response time was generally slower.

 

Before you compare Indigo to Ryan Air, let’s just talk about Indgio on their international flights:

This is the most profitable (in terms of %return) arm of their business.

OVER HERE they have to follow all kinds of rules, including the one on pilots resting and Pilot rotation. Indigo planes that fly to  Singapore/Dubai/Phuket have a small alcove where pilots can sleep. Their domestic planes don’t. Instead that space is turned into an extra seat for the passengers.

 

There really is no excuse.

 

 

That does not appear accurate. I have flown multiple flights per week in North America (and even in Europe when I visit there) frequently. For short haul flights, which are run by smaller planes, they don’t have cabins for rest. Most often smaller plans are used in short haul flights which don’t allow space for pilot rest cabins.
 

Larger planes are used on long haul flights (where one needs to account for wide variations in time difference as well). In North America a coast to coast direct flight can be 6+ hours. In Europe there are multiple daily flights between major cities like Paris and Amsterdam. Last time when I was booking my flights from CDG, I saw 10-15 options, flying every 30-60 minutes, to my destination on my preferred slots. 

Most airlines operate on hub and spoke models, where the airline flies to a hub and then reconnects you to go to the final destination (unless the hub is the final destination). 
 

PS in India, pilots do not fly for more than 14 hours per day including around 10 hours for night flights. Max a pilot would fly continuously is in 8-9 hours range. The longest direct flight in India is probably the Delhi-Port Blair one which takes less than 4 hours.

 

On top of that pilots get 36 hours no fly rest per week. Which is same as in Canada. In the US, it is probably around 30 hours. Some countries allow pilots to fly after 24 hours of weekly rest with additional compensation.

Edited December 10, 2025 by zen

[zen]

The picture could be getting clear: 

The government on Tuesday ordered IndiGo to reduce its schedule by at least 10 per cent, doubling the curtailment from 5 per cent that the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had ordered following network-wide disruptions at the country’s largest airline, which led to scores of flights cancellations on a daily basis since the middle of last week. The decision was communicated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in a meeting with IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers.

 

IndiGo is India’s largest airline with a domestic market share of nearly 65 per cent, and its schedule has over 2,300 daily flights, around 2,150 of which are domestic flights. A 10 per cent curtailment in domestic flights would mean that the airline’s daily scheduled domestic flights would come down to less than 1,950. According to sources, the freed-up slots may be offered to other carriers if they have additional capacity that can be deployed.

 

Source: Indian Express 

 

This is probably one of the most corrupt governments  that we have had. 

[pkmmamks]

6 hours ago, Lord said:

 

Hit the nail on the head.

 

What Indigo pulled off is criminal, surprised some are defending them. They need penalties not bailout

But they got an extension.

Shouldn't DGCA have checked continued progress of hiring pilots?

[zen]

5 hours ago, pkmmamks said:

But they got an extension.

Shouldn't DGCA have checked continued progress of hiring pilots?

This issue here is the naive assumption of GOI, run by opportunists politicians and insufferable bureaucrats, being the good party when it is the biggest crook in the country. 
 

Most people, with power and understanding of business (not the “pointless” 9 to 5 employee brigade which tends to post on social media) on streets think it is being done to benefit a party or a future entrant in the airline industry where slots can be opened up. 

Edited December 10, 2025 by zen

[BacktoCricaddict]

11 hours ago, ravishingravi said:

Min rest criteria has absolutely killed the pilots.

This sentence confused me. Are pilots opposed to minimum rest criteria? Or do they want to raise the minimum rest hours? 

[pkmmamks]

6 minutes ago, zen said:

This issue here is the naive assumption of GOI, run by opportunists politicians and insufferable bureaucrats, being the good party when it is the biggest crook in the country. 
 

Hardly anyone, the people with power and who actually understand business (not the “pointless” 9 to 5 employee brigade which tends to post on social media) on streets think it is being done to benefit a party or a future entrant in the airline industry where slots can be opened up. 

We all have heard this. It's hard to believe. The people there are well educated and selected through a rigorous process. One of the toughest in the world.

 

Not one thought that they should check with the airlines in the last 1 year on the progress of hiring pilots.

[pkmmamks]

6 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

This sentence confused me. Are pilots opposed to minimum rest criteria? Or do they want to raise the minimum rest hours? 

This from an ntdv debate . Some aviation expert shared.

 

Minimum hours were 36 in a week and were increased to 48 because earlier even in the 36, leaves were included which should not have been the case. 

 

For the time being , it has gone back to 36

Edited December 10, 2025 by pkmmamks

[zen]

13 minutes ago, pkmmamks said:

We all have heard this. It's hard to believe. The people there are well educated and selected through a rigorous process. One of the toughest in the world.

 

Not one thought that they should check with the airlines in the last 1 year on the progress of hiring pilots.

It is difficult for a company to realistically hire 1/3, esp. if that number is large like 1,000, competent pilots in a year or so, while not being able to pass the cost to travellers. 
 

Indigo being the largest and leanest operator is the natural target to acquire slots. Already 10% slots have been taken away from it by the crooks in GOI. 
 

I won’t be surprised if Adani is planning to enter the airline industry after his takeover of the airport infrastructure in general. PS Tata has also ordered or committed to order like 500-600 new planes iirc.

Edited December 10, 2025 by zen

[BacktoCricaddict]

1 hour ago, zen said:

while not being able to pass the cost to travellers. 

 

This is the real crux of the matter. If airlines are required to cap prices, then employee and passenger safety will suffer. Govt must get out of pricing. 

[zen]

10 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

 

This is the real crux of the matter. If airlines are required to cap prices, then employee and passenger safety will suffer. Govt must get out of pricing. 

It is not government that is influencing pricing but various airlines increasing fares to leverage on this situation, which the government is trying to cap but still at 2-4x the original fares, if I am not wrong. 
 

The fare is determined by market dynamics as charging more over acceptable fare for long term only kills air travel as substitutes come into play.

 

Therefore, if airlines are forced to charge more due to incremental operational expenses, it only hinders air travel in the long term as the law of diminishing returns kicks in, and substitutes become important. 

Edited December 10, 2025 by zen

[coffee_rules]

Worst airline in terms of  and baggage issues . But in India works mostly for price. 

[putrevus]

On 12/9/2025 at 12:44 PM, Lord said:

 

How about appealing through right way and informing passengers well in advance about cancellation so they can make other arrangements?

 

There's no way you can harass customers like this for your own benefit.

 

Many people will not prefer Indigo now anyway

Indigo is following what US airlines did in 2021 and then getting govt bailout of bilions. They also did the same during the most busy season cancelling flights . 

 

If people don't prefer Indigo anymore then that is the risk they are willing to take. 

 

Not related but how is govt run Indian railways doing, do they have any value for human lives.These guys only cancelled the flights, travelling by Indian railways is risking the life itself.

 

 

Edited December 10, 2025 by putrevus

[putrevus]

18 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Yes. There are studies done by the DGCA and by the US Federal Aviation where they tracked last 40-50 commercial airline crashes in the world (most are in Asia and Africa) and saw that most of them had pilots who had gone on for 14+ hours without sleep.

And that their response time was generally slower.

 

Before you compare Indigo to Ryan Air, let’s just talk about Indgio on their international flights:

This is the most profitable (in terms of %return) arm of their business.

OVER HERE they have to follow all kinds of rules, including the one on pilots resting and Pilot rotation. Indigo planes that fly to  Singapore/Dubai/Phuket have a small alcove where pilots can sleep. Their domestic planes don’t. Instead that space is turned into an extra seat for the passengers.

 

There really is no excuse.

 

 

You maybe right, but if they hire more staff they have to raise prices.

 

Govt giving them extension means pilots are going on shorter rest only.

[Lord]

18 minutes ago, putrevus said:

You maybe right, but if they hire more staff they have to raise prices.

 

Govt giving them extension means pilots are going on shorter rest only.

 

Prices can be raised. The capping was to restrict 3-4x increase other airlines did to take advantage of people's misery in this situation