History of IndiGo Airlines

IndiGo was founded in 2006 as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises and Rakesh Gangwal, a United States-based NRI. InterGlobe had a 51.12% stake in IndiGo and 47.88% was held by Gangwal's Virginia-based company Caelum Investments. IndiGo placed a firm order for 100 Airbus A320-200 aircraft in June 2005 with plans to begin operations in mid-2006.[9] IndiGo took delivery of its first Airbus aircraft on 28 July 2006, nearly one year after placing the order. It commenced operations on 4 August 2006 with a service from New Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati. By the end of 2006, the airline had six aircraft and nine more aircraft were acquired in 2007. In December 2010, IndiGo replaced state-run carrier Air India as the third largest airline in India, behind Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways with a passenger market share of 17.3%.
In 2011, IndiGo placed an order for 180 Airbus A320 aircraft in a deal worth US$15 billion. In January 2011, after completing five years of operations, the airline got permission to launch international flights. The airline launched international services in September 2011. In December 2011, the DGCA expressed reservations that the rapid expansion could impact passenger safety.
In February 2012, IndiGo took delivery of its 50th aircraft, less than six years after it began operations in 2006. For the quarter ending March 2012, IndiGo was the most profitable airline in India and became the second largest airline in India in terms of passenger market share. On 17 August 2012, IndiGo became the largest airline in India in terms of market share surpassing Jet Airways, six years after commencing operations.