IndiGo chief executive Willie Walsh expects third-quarter demand to stay strong despite higher airfares, saying the passenger impact of costlier tickets will not last.
Speaking to NDTV Profit, he said the airline is absorbing as much of its fuel cost increase as it can.
"The picture for the third quarter remains positive," Walsh said, adding that bookings for the quarter are "robust". The September quarter is historically the softest for the industry, and he said airline chiefs elsewhere are reporting similar trends.
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He acknowledged that fares have had some effect on traffic. "We did see a small reduction in our average seat factor during the second quarter. It was down about two points," he said.
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#NDTVProfitExclusive | Willie Walsh, CEO of IndiGo, shares his outlook for the second half of the fiscal year and discusses whether higher airfares could affect passenger traffic growth, in conversation with @daanish_Anand. https://t.co/w7K2olWfqQ
— NDTV Profit News (@NDTVProfit) November 2, 2026
"We understand that people would prefer to have lower prices. But obviously we have to have an eye on the financial stability of the company and we're trying to absorb as much as we possibly can."
Fuel Pressure
Walsh pointed to fuel as the pressure point. "Given the very significant increase in our fuel bill, up 67% in the quarter, and it will be much higher again in the third quarter, that's clearly going to have an impact," he said. "But I don't think it has a long-term impact."
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IndiGo reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,879.1 crore for the September quarter, narrower than the Rs 2,582 crore loss a year earlier. Aircraft fuel costs rose 67.2% to Rs 9,966.8 crore.
After the results, Walsh warned that the airline may have to raise fares further to offset rising fuel bills.
Global Comparison
Walsh said the pattern is global. European carriers are less affected because of "pretty good hedging", he said, but in the US "fuel costs are up over 60%, similar to ours".
American airlines are recovering part of the increase, though all have lower profitability. "It's going to be a short-term feature of the industry," he said.
He cited the oil spikes of 2008 and 2022, the latter linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Not many of them are long-term, things tend to stabilise again," he said.
Long-Term Plan Unchanged
Walsh said IndiGo remains focused on long-term growth and on its large aircraft order, which positions it to benefit when new planes arrive. "No change in our long-term strategy," he said.
Regulatory Backdrop
The comments come as the government frames new airfare rules. An official told The Economic Times that there are no plans to regulate fares routinely, though prices could be capped in extraordinary situations, and airlines must file fare structures with the DGCA a month in advance.
The government withdrew temporary fare caps, imposed after IndiGo's December disruptions, with effect from March 23.
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