How is Indigo?
 

I have never been a lcc flyer (only flew once RyanAir LHR-EDI years ago) and the prospect of flying Indigo is quite unsettling for mrs. psyflyer. Maybe its because we are going to be traveling through India for a month or maybe because the combination of low cost carrier and India is frightening for some but I wanted to check-in with indian flyers on the reputation of Indigo (6E).

As of now we will be flying JAI-BOM on 6E and GOI-DEL also on 6E. Their timetables work well for us and the flights are non-stop which is also a plus in my book (in this case at least). I remind myself that lcc and legacy carriers in no way differ in terms of safety but perhaps in India they do? This is our first time to India and appreciate any suggestion.

Au contraire. Indigo is one of the best lc's in the Indian market. I have had very good experiences w them. Most of my expats colleagues prefer them as well.

+1.. indigo has one of the best ontime performance records among all airlines AFAIK.. they r quite decent and I would say they r between a lcc and a full fledged airline..nothing specfic to be afraid of I would say..
but again if u get something from Jet Airways ( and not jetlite) for a difference of 5-10% max, u can consider that , otherwise I would be happy with Indigo if it saves me money ..

i feel so sorry for you....

i agree with what rsh913 & abhilife2001 said....indigo is actually a good airline....

while i have not flown indigo for a long time, my brother travels on it quite frequently....so do a lot of members of my firm....they are all very happy with the airline....

dont say this..:(
i hv tickets booked on this next week from BVA- CIA.. prices were more than 60% cheaper compared to the nearest other offer so took this..and I read that it will get us from point A to B but nothing more.. not that i expect anything more for the price I paid.. Eur 55 for 2 pax incl 1 checked bag for 15kgs ....

i have bought ryanair tickets on 2 seperate occasions & they managed to screw me both times....i can't speak for anyone else but if i can help it then i would definitely not even touch them with a 10 foot pole....

:eek::eek: hoping for the best..:(

Have no fear. Indigo is one of the few profitable airlines in India (my neighbor is their CFO) and they do not skimp on any of the important things (except maybe legroom).

Also, like most other Indian airlines, their aircraft are brand-new A320s. No worries from a mechanical standpoint. I would much rather fly them than SpiceJet if I had to fly an LCC.

^^....no doubt about that....

You've gotten plenty of good replies, but I'll throw mine in too... I flew the GOI-DEL route on Indigo a few months back and found it to be quite comparable with most domestic US airlines (which act like LCC's these days, though they charge more). The flight was on time, the aircraft was relatively new, and, at the time, they were one of the very few airlines capable of dealing with Delhi fog. I'll happily book them again the next time I'm in India.
Enjoy your trip!

As this is OT did not post here.. but details here..
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/budge...y-ryanair.html

And Indigo actually *has* a maintenance contract with the engine manufacturer of their aircraft (who have 2 engines pre-positioned at most of their airports if anything goes wrong, unlike Kingfisher! :eek:

After Kingfisher and Jet, Indigo would be my 1st choice.

Seats are comfortable and leg space is also not bad. Love their veg sandwitches. ^

I have flown Indigo on the BOM-MAA-Bom and BOM-HYD-Bom sectors everytime I am in India.
I think your fears are without basis.
Indigo is one of the better airlines in India with newer planes and great service.
Mostly the Indigo flights are on time.
Have heard their maintenence is first class.
So what is your worry?

^^

+1 on the above.. they infact do a good deal of advertising for their on time perfomance..

go for it
 

safe, reliable, on time, a pleasure !

otherwise, JET remains the best !

truer words have never been spoken....^^

Of course they do. Oh mighty mighty Sir, we Indians still move around on elephants.

Indigo gets the best LCC award from APAI
 

They have also got the best LCC award from Air Pax Asso of India .. just got a mail from them advertising that..Its evaluated on the follow criterion :
Value for money, punctuality,connectivity,safety,refunds and baggage handling..

Screw that, having flown by a multitude of airlines all around the world, I can say that Indigo is one of the best in the *world*. Good aircraft, good service, good food.

The title of this thread is extremely misleading - someone scanning the forum gets the impression as if someone is reporting actual negative experiences. I would request the mods to change title to something like "How is Indigo?" which is more faithful to the spirit of the question as well as the discussion.

Update. I see that the thread title has been changed. Thanks! (For those reading this tread after Oct 4, 2010, the original title was something like "Should I avoid Indigo?")

I was about to go w Indigo and a friend said try Spicejet. I thought it was fine.

I have flown Indigo 13 times oiver last 4 months. Great staff, service. Seat pitch is tolerable; you can confirm an exit row for a like $7. Mostly ontime.

I thought they were going to rename the title of this thread????

Well, I had requested so in #24, but am not aware of any assurance that this would be done. (To be fair, the mods at FT put in a lot of volunteer hours, and this forum has only one mod.)

Update. I see that the thread title has been changed. Thanks! (For those reading this tread after Oct 4, 2010, the original title was something like "Should I avoid Indigo?")

Totally agree, and I think the mods are doing a wonderful job. Only reason I wanted to bring this up was that the title is quite misleading, as was stated in your earlier post.

have notified babu....

Thread Title Changed
 

I changed the title.

Guys, if you want to get my attention quick, please do what saad did...click the icon on the bottom left of every post (red triangle with the ! in the middle). This feature exists for you to alert the mods when you feel their intervention is needed.

Regards,
Babu
Moderator, Airlines of India and India forums.

I am happy to be reminded of this. Was beginning to feel that Saad has some special trick... :D

oh come on babu....you gave away my secret....:D

Thanks Babu !

Making the most of ahte 6e experience
 

INDIGO is honestly a serious answer to 9W's stronghold over many markets - and as they expand I'm sure they will seriously threaten most airlines in India...

VERY WELL TRAINED CREW AND GROUND STAFF
VERY SYSTEMATIC BOARDING
BEST PUNCTUALITY PERFORMANCE

Also - to make the most of your experience:

1) Buy an extra legroom seats - they don't cost very much...

2)Pre-book a meal - they have some of the best sandwiches I've had in the country - honestly if they sold them on the ground at a cafe I would go out of my way to buy them....

planes are clean and new - spotless really. Halway through a DEL-MAA flight I noted that the toilets were not clean. the FA saw the look on my face when I opened the door, quickly intervened and requested that I give her 5 minutes to "refresh" the facilities - I walked in to a spotless lav in 4 minutes.. Its a great airline and very good value for money

my brother swears by this airline....he prefers indigo even when i tell him i would book him on a jet or kingfisher flight....

I would send an e-mail in writing to them, specifying these facts, so that they imporove!

I don't think you would find 9w FA's cleaning toilets - ever!

This is the biggest difference between 9w and SQ.

I once saw a cloth (very similar to the greyed/dirty ones used by jamadars in India) on the floor (not even bothered to be picked up and put away, near the biz galley and by the exit area in biz) which the crew must have used to clean up a spill - not acceptable, imo...

Good job Indigo - I must fly them once and see how they are! (My friend keeps asking me why I still like Jet when I have booked him on 9w, when he says the same things - newer planes, clearner, less packed....)

Good to read so pleasant things about this airline.. and yes gives real good cost / value ratio ^

Let's buy a few more planes.... [Indigo]
 

except Indigo?

Is Indigo profitable? They have been remarkably tight-lipped when the media has pressed them for figures. Persistence will get you a "not required to reveal figures by law" response!

It is my assesment, and that of others in the industry that Indigo CANNOT be making money at their current fares and cost structures. Their promoters are clearly hoping to make a killing in their upcoming IPO after which....! In more ways than one, Indigo is the new avatar of Kingfisher!

Puffery and PR games are the latest thing here in india - in business and elsewhere! :)

Actually Sale-and-Lease back is done by ALL domestic carriers, Air India included. Infact Jet was the pioneer of this and was taken to the next level by KFA after the Deccan acquisition. The difference was that while most carriers were striking these deals post delivery, Indigo had these deals executed before the metal for the plane was even cut! But now even Air India is doing the exact same thing.

Sale and Lease Back is a double edged sword-It gets you immediate cash, but at the cost of increased cash outflow down the line. Some call it "dressing the account books". Maybe some experts here can chime in!

The one thing that Indigo does that others havent caught on (yet?) - is the whole rookie pilots pay to get hours scheme. That ones still a new idea here in India. However is that enough to keep them profitable - all other things being equal?