India’s biggest airline by market share, IndiGo, has launched IndiGo Stretch, a tailor-made business-class offering, starting mid-November in a bid to challenge the monopoly of Air India and Vistara in this segment. IndiGo’s offering appears similar to the premium economy kind of on-board facilities and fare offered by the Tata-run airlines.
As the airline turned 18, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers announced that IndiGo Stretch is “going to be a real, good business class." The tickets can be booked starting August 6 with a launch price of Rs 18,018 on the first route, Delhi-Mumbai.
The fare is nearly similar to the Rs 18,041 premium economy flexi fare offered by Vistara on the Delhi-Mumbai route on November 15, the day IndiGo’s business class will be launched. The premium economy is offered on limited flights by Air India. The range of premium economy fare on Vistara is around Rs 13,500-18,041 for November on key metro routes.
IndiGo has announced business offerings on routes connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. The cabin will feature 12 seats in a 2-2 configuration, offering space and comfort. The 6E cabin will provide 208 seats, preserving the current seating layout, including the XL seat in the middle of the aircraft. Vistara has 24 premium economy seats in A320 and 321 and 21-36 in Dreamliner 787-9. The pure business class seats in Vistara are eight in A320neos, 12 in A321neos, and 31 in Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 long-haul flights.
Entering into the premium segment, IndiGo also looks to encash upon its new bigger fleets — A321neo, A321 XLR, and A350s — in the next 3-4 years as it also looks to spread its wings on foreign lands.
IndiGo is offering a coupe-style, 2-seat wide bay with a spacious pitch of 38 inches and a width of 21.3 inches so that customers can sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. A seat pitch is the distance between the back of a set to the back of the immediate front seat.
A look at Vistaras’ premium economy offering shows that it offers a pitch ranging from 33 inches to 38 inches with 20% more leg room than regular economy class and a seat recline of 4 inches to 7 inches on the A320neo, A321neo, and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
IndiGo Stretch’s seats come with a six-way adjustable headrest with neck support, a 5-inch deep recline to relax, an electronic device holder, a 60-watt USB-Type C power supply, and a three-pin universal power outlet to stay charged during the journey.
Customers will also enjoy a host of complimentary benefits, such as no convenience fee, a specially curated vegetarian meal box, a wide choice of beverages, and advance seat selection at no additional charge, along with priority check-in and anytime boarding.
Premium economy was a concept that Vistara pioneered in India and came with extra legroom, especially designed seat bottom cushions, winged headrests, and longer armrests, according to Vistara.
The premium economy on Vistara, scheduled to merge with Air India by the end of 2024, offers separate meal choices, in-seat USB ports on select aircraft, dedicated check-in counters at all airports, separate boarding queues, and priority baggage handling.
With IndiGo’s premium class product offering nearly similar to Vistara’s premium economy, it has to be seen if the country’s largest airline will make the travel truly business class as it turns 18.