IndiGo to Boost Indian Links to Singapore

Independent Indian carrier IndiGo is to inaugurate a new direct air service to Singapore Changi Airport from Chennai, adding to its existing links to the Asian hub from Delhi and Mumbai. The carrier will launch the new route from March 1, 2013 and has revealed it also plans to operate to Singapore from both Bangalore and Hyderabad in the future.

IndiGo introduced flights to Singapore in September 2011 as part of its expansion into international markets. It initially introduced flights from Delhi but supplemented them from October 2011 with a link from Mumbai. Both routes are served using a 180-seat Airbus A320 with a daily schedule and India’s fastest-growing carrier will offer a similar operation on this new route from Chennai.

“There are strong trade and tourism ties between southern region of India and Singapore and travellers have requirements of low fares by an Indian airline. With rising business and tourism stemming from the region, IndiGo is determined to provide the best travel experience to all those who wish to fly to Singapore from southern part of the country,” said Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo.

The Chennai – Singapore route is already served by Air India, its low-cost division Air India Express, SilkAir, Singapore Airlines and budget carrier Tiger Airways but IndiGo will not be put off by the competition. In the first twelve months of serving the Delhi – Singapore and Mumbai – Singapore it had secured 24 per cent and 16 per cent shares of the O&D traffic on the routes.

In 2011 an estimated 575,000 O&D passengers travelled between Chennai and Singapore with approximately 125,000 additional passengers making use of the hub connections to transfer on to other destinations. One-way air fares on the route average $158. Data shows that IndiGo’s debut in the market between India and Singapore has seen average air fares decline. On the Delhi route IndiGo’s fares during its first year of operations were recorded to be less than a third of the market average cost, a price difference that is even larger on the Mumbai route.

IndiGo is now exploring further growth and adding a fourth and fifth destination to its growing Singapore Changi routes. “We are also exploring flight operations to Singapore from Hyderabad & Bangalore in the near future. Our affordable fares on these new routes will further grow the market and benefit travelers,” said Aditya Ghosh.

The Bangalore – Singapore market is already served by SilkAir, Singapore Airlines and Tiger Airways, while SilkAir and Tiger Airways also operate on the Hyderabad – Singapore route. In 2011 an estimated 144,000 O&D passengers flew between Bangalore and Singapore paying an average one-way fare of $307, while approximately 53,000 O&D passengers flew between Hyderabad and Singapore paying an average one-way fare of $252.

In the table below we highlight the largest O&D operators between India and Singapore for the twelve months ending September 2012, a period during which IndiGo has managed to secure a notable 8.3 per cent share of the point-to-point demand.