IndiGo Q2 loss falls 27% to Rs 1,879 crore; no option but to increase fares, says CEO

NEW DELHI: Prepare to shell out even more for flying this winter. The CEO of India’s largest airline IndiGo Thursday said there’s no “no choice left but to look to increase fares” as it faces a “very significant” rise in its fuel bill. The stark warning came as IndiGo Thursday reported a loss of Rs 1879.1 crore this Q2, 27% lower from the loss of Rs 2,582.1 crore in same period last year as total income rose 24% to Rs 24,311.9 crore.The loss was due to “exceptionally high fuel costs and rupee depreciation.” The airline’s fuel cost rose to Rs 9,966.8 crore this Q2 — up 67.2% from Rs 5,961.8 crore in same period last fiscal — despite capacity getting reduced by 1% to 40.8 billion available seat km (ASKM, a standard aviation metric that measures an airline's total passenger-carrying capacity.)With escalated operating costs leading to higher airfares, the airline saw its passenger ticket revenue rise 29.3% to Rs 20,652.2 crore despite number of flyers falling 4.7% to 2.7 crore and load factor (aircraft occupancy) falling 2.2 points to 80.3% this July-Sept quarter.“We are looking at a period of elevated fuel cost for sometime. We will continue to look at every measure that can be taken internally to offset the very significant increase in our prices,” IndiGo CEO Willie Walsh said as the airline reported a loss for the third consecutive quarter. It does not expect an immediate relief from elevated fuel costs.The budget airline’s scrip closed 0.2% up on BSE Thursday at Rs 4,680 when the broader market was up 1.2%.“The seasonally soft Sept quarter saw exceptionally elevated fuel costs and continued geopolitical turmoil. We responded with prudent capacity reduction and yield management, supporting strong revenue performance but only partially offsetting the higher costs. Despite these actions, the quarter resulted in a net loss of around Rs 1,900 crore. We remain focused on managing the near-term challenges while continuing to invest for the future. India’s long-term aviation opportunity remains compelling, and our priorities remain clear: safe and reliable operations, rigorous cost discipline, and disciplined growth that creates sustainable value,” Walsh added.As on Sept 30, 2026, IndiGo had a total cash balance of Rs 52,685.4 crore comprising Rs 39,929 crore of free cash and Rs 12,756.4 million of restricted cash. The capitalised operating lease liability was Rs 55,159.2 crore. The total debt (including capitalised operating lease liability) was Rs 87,303.1 crore. This Sept end, IndiGo had a fleet of 442 aircraft and it operated a peak of 2,020 daily flights during the quarter including non-scheduled flights.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.