IndiGo postpones launch of much-hyped flights to London

IndiGo has decided to postpone its expansionist plans to launch flights to London after assessing the commercial viability of the operation, chief commercial officer William Boulter told CNBC-TV18.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline by passengers carried and fleet operated, received slots to operate to London and Gatwick in the UK but decided against using them after reviewing the mid-points necessary for the narrow-body A320 aircraft family operations. Boulter's comments happen to be the first occasion that the airline has admitted that its much-hyped ambitions of launching low-cost long-haul flights to Europe are on hold.

Boulter said it is fair to say that London is the largest market but at the moment we have a fleet which necessitates midpoints. “We have looked at a number of mid-points to London and we have also looked at the operational feasibility of the route," Boulter told CNBC-TV18 at the launch of flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Kolkata. "At the moment it is not something on the immediate next list. It is still something that we think about but we haven’t confirmed it."