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IndiGo CEO Walsh upbeat on Q3 outlook
In Short
"The picture for the third quarter remains positive," Walsh told NDTV Profit, adding that bookings for the quarter are "robust".
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IndiGo Chief Executive Willie Walsh
New Delhi: IndiGo Chief Executive Willie Walsh is upbeat on the airline’s performance during the October–December quarter of the current financial year as he expects the demand for air travel to remain buoyant despite higher airfares.
"The picture for the third quarter remains positive," Walsh told NDTV Profit, adding that bookings for the quarter are "robust". The September quarter is historically the softest for the industry, and he said airline chiefs elsewhere are reporting similar trends.
"We understand that people would prefer to have lower prices. But obviously we have to have an eye on the financial stability of the company, and we're trying to absorb as much as we possibly can."
Walsh flagged costlier fuel as a pressure point. "Given the very significant increase in our fuel bill, up 67 per cent in the quarter, and it will be much higher again in the third quarter, that's clearly going to have an impact. But I don't think it has a long-term impact," he added.
IndiGo reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,879.1 crore for the September quarter, narrower than the Rs 2,582 crore loss a year earlier. Aircraft fuel costs rose 67.2 per cent to Rs 9,966.8 crore.
After the results, Walsh warned that the airline may have to raise fares further to offset rising fuel bills.
"The pattern is global. European carriers are less affected because of pretty good hedging, but in the US, fuel costs are up over 60 per cent, similar to ours."
American airlines are recovering part of the increase, though all have lower profitability. "It's going to be a short-term feature of the industry," he added.
The IndiGo CEO also cited the oil spikes of 2008 and 2022, the latter linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Not many of them are long-term; things tend to stabilise again," he said.
Walsh further stated that IndiGo remains focused on long-term growth and on its large aircraft order, which positions it to benefit when new planes arrive. "No change in our long-term strategy," he remarked.
