Latest news with #PieterElbers
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Business Standard
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: Guarding your wicket because the stakes are high
You can tell when someone's batting for survival. Their front foot doesn't glide, it anchors. Their bat meets each ball like it's a ticking time bomb. In life, like in cricket, there are moments when you can't afford a reckless shot. You need to defend, calculate, and wait for the right ball. India, too, is batting on a tricky pitch, where one loose move could cost it dearly. Let's dive in. Take the long-delayed census, finally scheduled in two halves for 2026 and 2027. After 16 years, India's statistical innings will resume, with caste back on the scoresheet for the first time since 1931. As our first editorial notes, the data will determine everything from welfare policies to parliamentary seat counts (including women reservation). But mismanaging it, especially amid rising caste demands, could be like swinging blindly against a googly. The ball could turn sharply into political controversy. A similar test match is playing out in India's skies. Emirates' Tim Clark wants more airspace, but IndiGo's Pieter Elbers is defending home turf. As our second editorial outlines, Gulf carriers are eyeing India as a transit trophy. But without upgrading our airports and holding firm on bilaterals, we risk losing the strategic match point. Then there's the US-India tariff standoff. As Mark Linscott and Anushka Shah explain, India's offer to slash duties for the US, without a formal FTA, feels like a bold reverse sweep. But if Washington doesn't reciprocate, we could lose pricing power and political face. Three scenarios are on the table, but only one keeps India in the game. Meanwhile, India's telecom sector is playing a long innings on a crumbling pitch. As Nivedita Mookerji observes, decades of ultra-low tariffs have thrilled spectators but drained the players. With debt piling up, 5G unrecovered, and spectrum battles brewing, even a solid forward defence might not be enough to keep telcos standing. And in the media pavilion, Jennifer Burns' review of Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America by Sam Tanenhaus reminds us how postwar conservatism's star batsman mixed style with substance, though not always cleanly. The strokes he pioneered still echo in today's polarised playbook. In all of this, one truth holds: the field is open, the crowd is watching, but it's the careful batsman who will survive. Stay tuned!
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Business Standard
05-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
The hub of the matter: Airport competitiveness to shape air treaties
The subtext here is that the Indian airline industry is looking to expand international connectivity substantially Listen to This Article The recent disagreement between Emirates President Tim Clark and IndiGo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pieter Elbers over bilateral air-service agreements reflects the emerging competitive paradigms between West Asia's state-owned airlines and India's private sector-driven industry. At the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association, Mr Clark, who heads West Asia's largest airline, had criticised the Indian government for its 'restrictive' policies towards bilateral seat agreements with foreign airlines. He had sought increasing seat capacity between India and Dubai from the current 65,000 per week to 140,000. The Indian government has contended that it needs to counter the unfair
Newsweek
05-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Four Airlines Announce Investment in the Future of Travel to India
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Some of the world's leading airlines are investing to build a flight network to better connect India to the rest of the world. IndiGo, Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic this week announced a partnership that aims to link the domestic and international travel markets within and outside of India. IndiGo is a low-cost airline based in Gurugram, India. It is the largest carrier in the country with a 64.1 percent market share in 2025, nearly 20 points higher than their nearest competitor, Air India. IndiGo's primary airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. "IndiGo has embarked on an ambitious journey to become a global airline by 2030. This partnership represents another important milestone to pursue commercial synergies, operational excellence and innovation. This announcement not only expands our relationship with Air France–KLM and Virgin Atlantic but also marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we welcome Delta Air Lines as a valued partner," Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, said in a statement. "This strategic partnership enables a compelling combined customer proposition in the form of comprehensive intercontinental connectivity, seamless experience and great loyalty value. It also lays the groundwork for us to exchange best practices in areas of technology, operational excellence and service delivery," he said. The tail of a Virgin Atlantic plane is posed next to one of a SkyTeam alliance-branded plane. The tail of a Virgin Atlantic plane is posed next to one of a SkyTeam alliance-branded plane. Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines is one of the largest international airlines and part of the SkyTeam, one of the world's three major airline alliances. The Atlanta-based company offers more than 5,400 flights daily on six continents. Air France-KLM serves the international market under the Air France, KLM and Transavia brand names. As of late 2024, Air France-KLM flies 561 planes. The brands are part of the SkyTeam alliance and fly to more than 500 destinations worldwide as part of that network. Virgin Atlantic flies primarily out of London-Heathrow and Manchester, England airports with its 44 planes. It too is part of the SkyTeam alliance. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told reporters on Monday that India is the world's third-largest domestic aviation market. The country, the world's fifth-largest economy, is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. Modi noted in his remarks that India's airline industry has already ordered 2,000 new aircraft. IndiGo is expanding its fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft to six later this year and has placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with an option for 70 more. According to a freshly released report from the International Air Transport Association, aviation supports India's tourism industry to the tune of $27.1 billion and employs 5 million people. IndiGo has been linked with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic since 2022, allowing passengers of those airlines to access 30 of IndiGo's destinations in India. The Indian airline recently started service to Europe, which facilitated the opportunity for partnership with Virgin Atlantic and Delta. Soon, IndiGo customers will be able to book KLM flights from Amsterdam to 30 points within Europe, Delta and KLM flights from Amsterdam to the U.S. and Canada and Virgin Atlantic flights from Manchester to the U.S. In September, KLM will launch a new route, connecting Amsterdam to Hyderabad, India. Those customers will be able to purchase an IndiGo ticket to reach 24 destinations beyond Hyderabad as part of the partnership. Delta plans to relaunch direct flights to India, with direct flights from Atlanta to Delhi possible once government approval has been reached.
CNA
05-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
IndiGo on a mission to become a global airline: CEO Pieter Elbers
IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers shares his vision to make India's fastest-growing carrier a global airline by 2030 in a conversation with CNA's Yasmin Jonkers. IndiGo was the host of the 81st IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in India's capital New Delhi.
India Gazette
03-06-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Scale and potential of India make it a
ANI 03 Jun 2025, 18:55 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Tuesday said that Indian aviation has enormous growth opportunity for both domestic and international markets. The scale and potential of India have made it a 'beautiful opportunity' compared to China, which used to have significant development in terms of growth and number of aircraft and travellers a decade to reporters in New Delhi, IndiGo's CEO said, 'China had a significant development in terms of growth and number of aircraft and travellers. Probably like a decade ago, the entire development was there. When we speak about this being India's time, we see enormous growth.' Talking about the message of the 81st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) being held in New Delhi from June 1 to 3, IndiGo CEO said that the big message from this AGM is that this is 'India's time.' 'Big message from this AGM is this is India's time, and the scale and potential and opportunity of India have been a beautiful opportunity here to showcase that to the rest of the world,' Elbers told reporters in the National last AGM in India was held 42 years ago in 1983. It brings together more than 1,600 participants, including top global aviation industry leaders, government officials and international media CEO thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government of India for the continuous support.'With the support of the Indian government and the strong commitment not only in words but even more so in presence and in actual steps being taken and outlining the vision of the Prime Minister and outlining all the steps and the opportunities which are, I think, it has been very successful in showcasing that to the rest of the world expanding and adding more and more destinations,' he said. IndiGo's CEO stated that Indian domestic markets are witnessing enormous growth, and the opportunity for the international market is even greater. 'So if you look at that opportunity of new flights and more connections between India and Thailand and Malaysia and Singapore, the opportunity I would say is massive going forward. Again, we are taking the first steps into Europe, and clearly Italy has a lot of potential also for flights,' he Walsh, Director General of IATA, also thanked PM Modi, adding,'I think it's very exciting. I was honoured to meet the honourable Prime Minister. I think the fact that he was prepared to attend the AGM reinforced the vision that he has personally and the Indian government has for the development of the industry here. So very exciting; it was great to hear him talk firsthand about where he sees the industry developing into the future.' (ANI)
