Pieter Elbers moves to the corner office of IndiGo

Former KLM CEO and industry veteran Pieter Elbers assumed charge as CEO of India’s largest airline IndiGo on Tuesday- almost three weeks before he was originally envisaged to.
According to the announcement in May, Elbers was to replace Ronojoy Dutta, from September 30. However, Dutta ended his tenure earlier after a mutual agreement with the company.

Elbers came to India on 4 August and was part of IndiGo’s 16^th anniversary celebration. Since then, he has been working with Dutta as part of hand holding process.

In his first communication as CEO of the company, Elbers said that the employees should look forward to coming years as the most exciting phase of their professional career.

“Ever since my introduction to IndiGo, I am impressed by its energy and efforts to be India’s most preferred airline. Earlier IndiGo communication summarizes it all in just three words: Towards new heights and -let me add here- across new frontiers’. With that vision in mind, you should feel assured that the coming years will be among the most exciting of your professional lives,” Elbers wrote to employees. The note was reviewed by ET.

Elbers, 51, is a 30-year veteran of the company who oversaw restructurings at KLM before and during the coronavirus pandemic. He started his career at KLM in 1992 and held several managerial positions in the Netherlands and overseas in Japan, Greece and Italy.

Despite a three-decade long relationship with KLM, last month he stepped down as CEO of the Dutch carrier amid a very controversial environment. In recent years, relations between the Dutch airline and Air France have been strained as Elbers strongly advocated for KLM's interests within the Air France-KLM joint venture of which KLM has been a part of since 2004.

Elbers said that he was very enthusiastic to move to India. “I have traveled to India quite a bit in the past. What struck me the most was the diversity, the energy and hospitality of the people. Earlier, I quoted the saying; “Wherever you go, becomes a part of you somehow.” As from today, it will be IndiGo and India becoming part of me,” he said.

As KLM CEO, he played a key role in the Air France-KLM- Jet Airways joint venture which increased both the airline’s presence in India-Europe routes. KLM is also a client of Tata Consultancy Services which provides IT support to the Dutch airline.

Elbers' selection as CEO for IndiGo was a strategic decision due to his expertise in developing international hubs at home airports.

The Dutch flag-carrier continues to operate one of Europe’s most diverse hubs from its home base at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. IndiGo recently signed slew of code share partnerships with major global airlines including Air France-KLM

IndiGo, which has more than 50 percent share of India’s domestic market, looks to expand internationally. While currently only 25 per cent of IndiGo’s operations are on international routes, it has plans to expand it to up to 40 per cent in next four years.

The airline, which plans to induct Airbus’ long range narrow body aircraft A321 XLR starting from mid-2024, has plans to operate to multiple European cities like Barcelona, Rome, Moscow, Milan from its hub airport at Delhi.

Elbers, who was very popular among KLM employees, will also have to focus on human resource issues at IndiGo, as the airline has faced employee unrest due to delay in restoring pre-Covid salaries.