IndiGo: Pushing the Limits
of the LCC Model — June 2025

Pieter Elbers has now been CEO of IndiGo for three years, after 30 years at KLM, eight as CEO.

KLM evolved into the ultimate hub and spoking airline, building waves of connecting flights from its one base at Amsterdam and using an innovative alliance with Northwest to create a global network, despite having a minuscule home market. Its possibly questionable decision was the merger with Air France which was designed to overcome the problems of scale and open up new markets, but which also brought bureaucratic management structures and an unbalanced contribution to profits to KLM’s detriment.