Blue Ocean Story: Ixigo CEO Reveals Factors Behind Strong Q1 Results
Even though it took a bit longer to build the business and, of course, build deep inroads into trains, buses and flights now, it's a much bigger audience to cater to, says Aloke Bajpai.
Travel aggregator Ixigo's strong first-quarter performance is not a one-off achievement, but the result of a decade-long strategy focused on India's underserved market, according to Aloke Bajpai, group chief executive officer of Le Travenues Technology.
"There were no real one-offs here. What you're seeing is the outcome of a journey of more than a decade," he said in a conversation with NDTV Profit on Thursday. "We chose to go after the underserved next billion users or the Bharat part of the market."
Bajpai also said that even though it took a bit longer to build the business and, of course, build deep inroads into trains, buses and flights now, it's a much bigger audience to cater to.
"Only 4% of Indians fly. But when you look at the number of people taking trains and buses, it's an order of magnitude bigger. So, we kind of built a very large base and we are now able to monetise this base," the CEO said, explaining the factors behind the success in Q1 FY26.
He also explained how Ixigo carved out a unique position in a competitive landscape. "I think Ixigo's story is a bit of a blue ocean story in that sense, because we chose to go after an underserved market where there was very limited competition. And in a way, we are creating a new market," Bajpai said.
"What stands out for us is the ability to tap into the first-time flyer segment. This is coming largely from people who, today, might be travelling on a bus or a train and tomorrow, they have the capacity or the per-capita income to actually upgrade them," the top executive highlighted.
The Group CEO claimed Ixigo commanded a 60% share of the online-travel-agency market for trains, the third-largest position in flights and the second largest in buses.
