Business | Blue-sky thinking

India’s largest airline is flying high

IndiGo has conquered its home market. Its ambitions are rising

An Indigo plane flies over Mumbai, India
Up and awayPhotograph: Getty Images
|Delhi

To become a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch an airline. Usually attributed to Richard Branson, a British entrepreneur, the line gets at the truth that the aviation business is capital-hungry and failure-prone. Still, that did not deter Rahul Bhatia, a travel agent, and Rakesh Gangwal, a former airline chief. They started as mere millionaires, and today are among the richest 500 people in the world, with a combined net worth of $13.3bn, according to Forbes, a compiler of lists.

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This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Blue-sky thinking”

From the August 24th 2024 edition

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