IndiGo has achieved a remarkable milestone by briefly surpassing international giants Delta Air Lines and Ryanair to become the world’s highest-valued airline. The Indian carrier’s market capitalization crossed the Rs 2 lakh crore ($23.3 billion) threshold following a 13% stock rally this year—a particularly impressive feat considering the Nifty index has declined nearly 6% during the same period.
The low-cost airline, which controls over 60% of India’s domestic air travel market, is aggressively expanding its international presence. IndiGo recently outlined plans to increase international operations from 28% to 40% of its available seat kilometers (ASK) by FY30. Supporting this ambitious growth strategy, the carrier intends to add 50 aircraft to its fleet of 439 in the upcoming fiscal year, though challenges remain with approximately 50 planes currently grounded.
Despite its soaring market valuation, IndiGo’s parent company InterGlobe Aviation reported mixed financial results for Q3 FY25. Net profit declined 18% year-on-year to Rs 2,449 crore, down from Rs 2,998 crore in the previous year—a drop largely attributed to festival season timing differences affecting travel patterns.
Nevertheless, revenue grew 14% to Rs 22,111 crore, driven by significant increases in both available seat kilometers (up 12%) and revenue passenger kilometers (up 13.5%). The airline’s improving load factor of 86.9%, representing a 1.2 percentage point increase, indicates robust and growing travel demand despite broader economic uncertainties in the aviation sector.
