Abstract

The case, “IndiGo Airlines: Business Model Efficiency or Operational Resilience?” discusses the operational disturbance suffered by India’s largest airline, IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Enterprises in December 2025, when extensive flight postponements and terminations played havoc with the travel plans of many customers in India. The case details how IndiGo had built its market leadership through a low-cost carrier model based on fleet standardization, high aircraft employment, and vast network coverage. It then describes the regulatory requirements of the DGCA and the implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limit regulations affecting pilot resting periods and night schedules. Although the DGCA gave the airline companies ample time to adhere to the new regulations, IndiGo with its LCC model, found it difficult to make changes in crew capacity and scheduling. As a consequence, the airline faced operational disturbance during the peak travel period in December 2025. As Indigo was the market leader, these disruptions had widespread repercussions, affecting the airline sector and other airlines too. The case is suitable for courses in Business Strategy and Managerial Economics, and highlights the interface between cost leadership and regulatory compliance. It also explores how market concentration influences operational outcomes and regulatory responses and the limits of successful business models under external limitations.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze how a company’s business model can create efficiency advantages while limiting flexibility in responding to regulatory and operational shocks.
• Understand how monopoly-like market structures influence firm behavior, regulatory responses, and system-level outcomes.

Keywords

Cost leadership; Porter’s Five Force Model; Market concentration; Operational efficiency; Monopoly; Regulatory compliance; Flight Duty Time Limits (FDTL); High aircraft utilization; Network density; Systemic risk; Aviation regulation; Operational resilience.Indigo; Aviation