IndiGo has decided to give in to one of the demands made by promoter Rakesh Gangwal and will amend the articles of association to appoint an independent woman director. The board meeting will continue tomorrow to discuss the matter among other issues.

The airline has submitted its response to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) with regard to the complaints filed by co-founder Rakesh Gangwal on corporate governance. Gangwal holds 36.7 percent stake in the airline.

The ministry of corporate affairs has also requested for the company's comments in relation to the complaints filed by Gangwal. The airline will submit its explanation on the matter to the ministry of corporate affairs by the end of next week.

The company clarified that the differences between the two promoters are solely regarding the "agreement" between them and it does not relate to the international strategy for IndiGo.

The airline does not see any benefits of Jet Airways situation from September quarter onwards. In fact, the management said that Air India and British Airways must have been the biggest beneficiaries as they were competing with Jet Airways in the international segment, where Jet was the leader. On the domestic front, the company reiterated that Jet Airways situation has not benefitted them much. It has received only 12 international departures of Jet Airways, out of which six have been operational.

Employee cost during the quarter was higher due to salary increments, hiring of a large number of pilots who are currently undergoing training and in-sourced ground services.

The airline has opted for CFM engines to power 280 A320neo family aircraft because the maths was looking better. This will help it to lower operating cost.

The airline expects an increase of 5 percent in unit revenue in the September quarter. However, it has been witnessing lower fares in the 0-15 day booking window, which will impact the unit revenue.

As of June 30, IndiGo's total debt (including the capitalised lease liability) was Rs 18, 431 crore, while the total cash balance was Rs 17,337 crore including Rs 7,697 crore of free cash and Rs 9,640 crore of restricted cash. Yield for the quarter stood at Rs 4.08 per km, 12.8 percent up on year.

The airline, whose total fleet count stood at 235 as on June 30, expects a capacity increase of 30 percent on year for 2019-20 (April-March) and a capacity increase of 28 percent on year for July-September this year.

First Published:Jul 19, 2019 7:45 PM IST