On 20th anniversary, IndiGo MD Rahul Bhatia says 'best is yet to come'

New Delhi: IndiGo Co-Founder and Managing Director Rahul Bhatia on Tuesday said the "best is yet to come" as the airline completed 20 years of flying and will be piloted by new CEO Willie Walsh.

"India's aviation story is only just beginning and the country is destined to become one of the world's great aviation hubs... our airline has played an important role in that journey," Bhatia said in a message to staffers.

IndiGo started operations on August 4, 2006 and now operates nearly 2,200 daily flights with a fleet of over 430 planes.


Read more: New pilot in IndiGo's cockpit: Willie Walsh takes charge as CEO

What started as an ambitious vision has become one of the world's most admired aviation success stories, Bhatia said, adding that the next chapter promises even greater growth, greater innovation and greater global relevance.

Bhatia said he was handing over the baton to Walsh and described him as the leader who will guide the airline into its next exciting phase of growth. "The best is yet to come".

IndiGo plans to operate nearly 3,000 daily departures, serve nearly 200 million passengers annually and expand its fleet to more than 550 aircraft by 2030.

Read more: IndiGo to offer lie-flat business class, dense economy on long-haul routes

After the sudden exit of Pieter Elbers in March against the backdrop of massive flight disruptions in December last year, Bhatia started managing the affairs of the airline as an interim CEO.

On March 31, the day the appointment of Walsh as the CEO was announced, Bhatia, in a message to employees, had described himself as 'Kuchh Hee Dinon Kaa Mehmaan', which means a guest for a short time.

When the announcement of Elbers' resignation was made on March 10, Bhatia in the message to the airline's staff had signed off as 'Rahul alias Main Hoon Naa'.