India is now the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world, with its domestic airline capacity nearly doubling over the last ten years. As one of the fastest growing markets globally, carriers are racing to position themselves and capitalise on the rapid expansion.
At Aviation Festival Asia, Aloke Singh, CEO, Air India Express shared insights on how the low cost carrier (LCC) is navigating this changing landscape following its recent mergers. Having harmonised hundreds of manuals, procedures, and platforms the carrier has “hit the ground running” and is now focused on domestic and international expansion.
Singh talked through plans to strengthen Air India Express’ domestic network acknowledging its presence was “relatively thin” before. He noted there is plenty of room for the market to grow and the carrier will be incorporating emerging demand from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities into its expansion strategy.
Looking at international expansion, Singh outlined plans to grow the airline’s presence in Southeast Asia. He noted Thailand and Singapore as a focus for Air India Express moving forward, with routes already launched non-stop from smaller Indian cities to Bangkok and Phuket.
Speaking on opportunities to grow revenue, Singh explained:
“From our standpoint, the potential opportunities are certainly in new geographies, expanding the presence in the existing geographies that we operate, tapping into new market segments, broadening our network – so these are some of the areas on the revenue side that help us tap into potential revenue opportunities. Then of course, like you mentioned, our business model is all about efficiency. And ultimately, the objective is that we should be able to achieve lower costs, lower unit costs, so that we can offer lower fares out in the market, and that stimulates demand in the market – particularly in a market like India and the short-haul international market around India. These are fairly price-sensitive markets. If we are able to rationalise and optimise our business model, we are able to achieve lower costs, able to offer lower fares, and if we can expand into the right markets, right geographies, then there are plenty of revenue opportunities.”
Questions asked include:
- In October, you completed your merger with AIX Connect. What’s next in terms of your broad strategy and how will this integration support future growth?
- As an LCC, you’re all about efficiency. Where do you see untapped potential for revenue? And how can technology help here?
- The Indian aviation market is large and growing, What are some of the distinctive expectations of travellers in this diverse region and how are you pre-empting demands?
Book your ticket now to join us at AFA 2026!
For more onsite at Aviation Festival Asia 2025 see:
- How Emirates Skywards transformed loyalty members into active users
- Why Cebu’s CEO thinks ancillary fee bans will be overturned
- Offer and order, dynamic pricing, and Agentic AI
