IndiGo Celebrates 18th Anniversary with New Growth Initiatives

IndiGo Celebrates 18th Anniversary with New Growth Initiatives

By Author

Published on August 11, 2024

IndiGo, India's largest airline and one of the biggest globally, recently marked its 18th anniversary with a series of announcements signaling the next phase of its growth. The celebration, held at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, was attended by key figures from the travel industry, partners, investors, and the airline’s leadership.

Over the past 18 years, IndiGo has transformed air travel in India by connecting 88 domestic destinations with over 400 routes, making air travel accessible to millions, including first-time flyers. Internationally, the airline has expanded its reach to 33 cities across more than 100 routes.

As part of its growth strategy, IndiGo has placed a record order for 500 new aircraft, including the Airbus A321-XLRs expected to enter service in 2025 and the widebody A350-900s scheduled for delivery in 2027. This expansion plan aims to double the airline's scale by the end of the decade.

To enhance customer experience, IndiGo introduced several new initiatives. The airline launched 'IndiGoStretch,' a new business class service available on 12 metro-to-metro routes, starting with the Delhi-Mumbai sector. This service features premium seating and other amenities aimed at attracting business travelers.

IndiGo also unveiled its much-anticipated loyalty program, 'IndiGo BluChip.' This program is designed to reward frequent flyers with benefits based on their spending, including real-time tier upgrades and lifetime validity for active members. The full program is set to launch in September 2024, with early registration opening immediately.

Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo, reflected on the airline’s journey, stating, "On our 18th anniversary, it’s time to reflect on the wonderful and incredible IndiGo journey of giving wings to the nation. I would like to deeply thank the 600 million customers since inception that choose to fly IndiGo and all my colleagues who work so relentlessly and professionally serving our customers. Together we are building the IndiGo growth story realizing India by IndiGo.

As India’s leading carrier, we are constantly looking at ways of improving our service offering for our millions of our customers. With India’s soaring economy and the evolving aspirations of the Indian society, it’s time for us to redefine air travel once again and provide our evolving customers more benefits as they travel the world on us.

I am pleased to announce a new era of our IndiGo journey with the launch of IndiGoStretch – a tailor- made business product; and IndiGo BluChip – our much-awaited loyalty program. In addition, we have also launched a completely refreshed website and app with several features to make our customers experience more hassle-free. We are excited with this new era of IndiGo’s journey as we will continue to deliver on our core promises of being on-time, offering affordable fares, and delivering a courteous and hassle-free travel experiences across our unparalleled network."

In addition to these offerings, IndiGo has revamped its website and mobile app to provide a more user-friendly experience, further enhancing its service for customers.

Image Credit: IndiGo Press Note


Marriott Announces Dividend and Expands Share Buyback Plan

Marriott Announces Dividend and Expands Share Buyback Plan

By Manu Vardhan Kannan

Published on August 10, 2025

Marriott International, Inc. has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 67 cents per share on its common stock, reaffirming its commitment to delivering shareholder value. The dividend will be paid on September 30, 2025, to shareholders who are on record as of August 21, 2025.

Alongside the dividend announcement, the hospitality giant also revealed an expansion of its share repurchase program. The board of directors has authorized the repurchase of an additional 25 million shares of its Class A common stock. This comes in addition to the approximately 7.4 million shares that were still available under previous authorizations as of July 30, 2025.

Marriott has already bought back 6.4 million shares this year, amounting to $1.7 billion. These moves reflect the company’s continued confidence in its financial stability and long-term performance, aiming to strengthen shareholder value through strategic capital allocation.


Chennai Postal Services Still Disrupted: Experts Call for Alternative Systems Amid Software Transition

Chennai Postal Services Still Disrupted: Experts Call for Alternative Systems Amid Software Transition

By Author

Published on August 4, 2025

In what was intended to be a smooth digital transformation, postal services across the Chennai Circle continue to remain disrupted even days after a scheduled upgrade to India Post's new IT 2.0 system. The software transition—part of a broader effort to modernize the nation’s postal network—was implemented on August 2nd and 4th across Chennai North and South divisions. However, officials have now confirmed that technical issues still persist, leaving customers and businesses grappling with delayed or inaccessible services.

Key services such as Speed Post, registered mail, parcel bookings, and money orders have either been significantly slowed or paused altogether in many branches. Despite expectations that systems would normalize post-upgrade, the rollout of the Advanced Postal Technology (APT) system has proven more complex than anticipated.

“We are still working on stabilizing the system. There have been unforeseen glitches post-upgrade, and our teams are actively resolving them,” said a senior postal official who requested anonymity.

The disruption has raised concerns across industries—including the hospitality sector—where timely document dispatch, license renewals, vendor payments, and customer correspondence are crucial to daily operations.

Experts and industry stakeholders are now calling on India Post to introduce alternative operational strategies or backup mechanisms during such large-scale transitions.

“In a digital age where seamless service is non-negotiable, a complete blackout due to a software update is avoidable. A fallback process, whether manual or cloud-based, should be in place to ensure continuity,” said a Chennai-based hospitality consultant.

The hospitality industry relies heavily on postal services for legal documentation, international communication, and procurement logistics. The ongoing delays have caused bottlenecks not just in operations but also in customer experience delivery.

As authorities continue to work toward a resolution, the broader question remains: Should India’s essential public infrastructure be this vulnerable to a single system upgrade? The answer may lie in future-proofing core services with hybrid digital models that include disaster recovery plans and parallel systems.


Hospitalitynews.in will continue to track updates as the situation evolves.


IPO-bound Brigade Hotel Ventures Raises ₹126 Crore from 360 ONE, Cuts IPO Size

IPO-bound Brigade Hotel Ventures Raises ₹126 Crore from 360 ONE, Cuts IPO Size

By Nishang Narayan

Published on July 5, 2025

Brigade Hotel Ventures Limited, the second largest owner of chain-affiliated hotels and rooms in South India, has raised ₹126 crore in a pre-IPO placement round, bringing a strategic investor on board ahead of its planned initial public offering.

The company issued 1.4 crore equity shares to 360 ONE Alternates Asset Management Limited (360 ONE) at ₹90 per share (including a premium of ₹80) in consultation with lead bankers. This placement, representing 4.74% of Brigade Hotel Ventures’ pre-offer share capital, effectively trims the IPO size announced in the DRHP from ₹900 crore to ₹774 crore.

The company intends to use approximately ₹481 crore from the IPO proceeds for debt repayment, including ₹412 crore for Brigade Hotel Ventures and ₹69 crore for its subsidiary, SRP Prosperita Hotel Ventures. Additionally, around ₹108 crore is earmarked to purchase an undivided share of land from its promoter BEL, while the remaining funds will support acquisitions, other strategic initiatives, and general corporate purposes.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Brigade Enterprises Limited, one of India’s leading real estate developers, Brigade Hotel Ventures owns and develops hotels across key Indian cities, with a strong focus on South India. The company operates nine hotels with 1,604 keys, holding the second largest portfolio of chain-affiliated hotels and rooms in South India, spanning Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and the Union Territories of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Pondicherry.

With this pre-IPO boost from 360 ONE, Brigade Hotel Ventures is better positioned to move forward with a leaner public offering, a sharper focus on debt reduction, and strategic expansion in India’s growing hospitality sector.

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