NEW DELHI: The Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) has appointed Pieter Elbers as the chief executive officer, subject to regulatory approvals. He will join IndiGo on or before October 1. Current CEO Ronojoy Dutta (71) has decided to retire on September 30, 2022. Since 2014, Elbers (52) has served as the president & chief executive officer (CEO) of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Air France – KLM Group.
Co-founder and MD Rahul Bhatia said, “India promises to be the last bastion of ginormous growth globally and given Elbers’ deep understanding of the business, his legendary leadership qualities coupled with his energy and passion, we are ever so confident that under his stewardship, IndiGo will play a pivotal role in this growth opportunity.”.
Dutta’s departure from IndiGo’s cockpit comes at a crucial time for the airline and India’s civil aviation industry. After struggling to remain afloat for two years due to the havoc caused by the covid-19 pandemic, India’s aviation industry is finally showing signs of recovery with air traffic reaching to pre-covid level. It is also becoming more competitive with the privatisation of Air India and Tata’s effort to streamline the four airlines it operates.
Tata Sons had last month appointed Scoot’s Campbell Wilson as the CEO & managing director of Air India. It will be interesting to see how Elbers would defend IndiGo’s 55% market share in the domestic market from the deep pocketed Tata’s and work on expanding international footprints.
Add to this, there is entry of a new airline Akasa Air and re-entry of Jet Airways in the Indian skies. Responding to his appointment, Elbers said, “I am delighted to become a part of the next stage of IndiGo’s incredible journey, further fulfilling the vision of what the airline can do.”