In August 2024, IndiGo announced that the airline would launch a new tailormade “business product” on India’s busiest and business routes. The airline, on the occasion of Diwali, had their first A321neo equipped with the business class product arrive in India. Here is a first look.

IndiGo’s new Business Product: IndiGoStretch

While earlier on, IndiGo used to sell its extra legroom seats on the first row and emergency exit on its A320-family aircraft, called IndiGo XL, the airline is now going to have proper business-class seats on some of its A321neo aircraft.

The airline has selected the Recaro R5 as its new offering. IndiGo will offer the coupe-style, 2×2 seats on 45 aircraft in the coming months, with the first one set to be inducted into service in November 2024.

Here is what to expect on IndiGoStretch:

• Seat Pitch of 38 inches
• Seat width of 21.3 inches
• Six-way adjustable headrest with neck support
• 5″ recline
• Electronic Device Holder
• 60W USB-C Power supply along with a 3-pin universal power outlet

The airline will also offer the following perks for those booking IndiGoStretch:

• No convenience fee
• Vegetarian meal box, curated by Oberoi Hotels
• Choice of (soft) beverages
• Advance seat selection
• Priority check-in
• Anytime boarding.

IndiGo’s First A321neo delivered

IndiGo will operate an A321neo aircraft line-fit with the new IndiGo Stretch product effective November 14, 2024. The airline will operate Delhi—Mumbai as the first route and expand from there. On the occasion of the celebration of the first aircraft with the Stretch product arriving in India on October 31, 2024, IndiGo founder and Managing Director Rahul Bhatia and CEO Pieter Elbers unveiled “IndiGo means Business” on the first IndiGoStretch aircraft.

This is an intelligent play on IndiGo’s name, and IndiGo is carrying it on the first aircraft they will equip with the Stretch Product.

On the occasion, Pieter Elbers said,

India’s economy is soaring and with the evolving aspirations of the Indian society, it is time for us to redefine accordingly. IndiGoStretch will create a desired option for many who are aiming to travel business, some of them seasoned and some perhaps for the first time in their life. It is an exciting time for Indian aviation and for IndiGo. By early January, all customers flying between Delhi and Mumbai will be on an IndiGoStretch aircraft and by March 2025, we would cover all flights from Delhi to Bengaluru and Chennai. In the next 14 months, 45 IndiGoStretch planes will be inducted in our fleet and we will ramp up to serve 12 routes with 268 daily flights.

Inside IndiGo Stretch

While the aircraft has not been pressed into service so far, IndiGo released some images that showcase more details of how the product looks inside the aircraft. The first thing to notice is that there is no rigid divider between the Stretch Class and the rest of the cabin. Just a half divider, which indicates a cabin separation. There are also no curtains to segregate the cabins (usually drawn after the aircraft reaches cruise altitude).

Also note the IndiGoStretch embossed on the headrest of the segregated seats in front of the cabin.

IndiGo’s CEO also posed for pictures on board, stretching out.

IndiGo goes all-in on Delhi – Mumbai – Delhi with IndiGo Stretch

As the IndiGo CEO indicated, the airline will go for complete dominance and head-to-head with Air India, which would have subsumed Vistara for IndiGo Stretch by then. Given Delhi – Mumbai / Mumbai – Delhi is the busiest route in India, there should be enough potential for this route to absorb the expanded capacity for premium seats.

As of November 14, 2024, there will be three services on DEL – BOM and three on BOM – DEL with IndiGo Stretch (using just one aircraft with the product).

As of January 6, 2025, there are 15 services on DEL – BOM and return planned to operate with IndiGo Stretch. IndiGo must be adding two more aircraft with Stretch to make this work.

 

On January 7, 2025, one more service will be added. This must be because a six-day service will come into operation which might not be operating on Sunday.

 

Then, on January 12, 2025, 19 frequencies on the route will have an IndiGo Stretch-equipped aircraft.

Next up, IndiGo will launch the product on Delhi – Bengaluru and Delhi – Chennai.

Bottomline

IndiGo’s strategy with IndiGo Stretch is becoming more apparent as the airline comes closer to launching its premium product. The airline believes there is room for an in-between product without the frills of a full-service carrier, such as lounges and hot meals when priced competitively. They seem to be going with the real-estate pricing on the plane concept, where they will charge 3-3.5x in the initial days to establish the product in the mind space of the business travellers. This might eventually cause the Air India Group to reduce their pricing in this sector in the coming days. As of now, the lowest I’ve seen the Air India Group sell these seats is at INR 25,000, and it goes all the way to INR 50,000 and upwards as well.

What do you think of  IndiGo Stretch as it comes closer to launch?

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