Indigo Partners

Last updated

Indigo Partners
Company type Private equity firm
Founded2002  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
FounderWilliam Franke
Headquarters,
Subsidiaries
Website www.indigohq.com

Indigo Partners, LLC [1] is an American private equity firm which has a controlling interest in the American Frontier Airlines and Chilean low-cost JetSmart, as well as holding stakes in Mexican budget airline Volaris and European (Hungarian) low-cost carrier Wizz Air. The company had a partnership with Enerjet when it launched the now defunct Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier Lynx Air. [2]

Contents

Indigo Partners was founded by Bill Franke and has set up a number of ultra-low-cost airlines around the world. It is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. [3]

History

At the November 2017 Dubai Air Show, Indigo Partners signed a memorandum of understanding for 430 Airbus: 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos for $49.5 billion at list prices: 146 aircraft will go to Wizz Air, 134 to Frontier Airlines, 80 to Volaris and 70 to JetSmart. [2] Wizz will get 72 A320neo and 74 A321neo, Frontier 100 A320neo and 34 A321neo, Volaris 46 A320neo and 34 A321neo and JetSmart 56 A320neo and 14 A321neo. [4]

Deliveries will begin in 2021, mostly in 2025-26 from Toulouse, France and Mobile, Alabama, U.S. Wizz Air previously ordered 110 A321neos at the 2015 Paris Airshow and its fleet will grow to 300 aircraft by 2025. Frontier received its first Airbus from Mobile in 2018 and its fleet will triple to 200, flying 50 million passengers in 2026. [5]

On November 29, 2018, Indigo Partners reached a preliminary agreement to buy Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW Air after Icelandair Group dropped its takeover. [6] However, on March 22, 2019, it was announced that Indigo Partners withdrew its offer to buy Wow Air. [7]

On November 14, 2021, Indigo Partners ordered 255 A321s. [8]

In 2022, Indigo Partners attempted to merge its majority-owned Frontier subsidiary with fellow US-based low cost carrier Spirit Airlines. [9] [10] The planned merger with Spirit fell apart as JetBlue offered an all-cash offer of $3.7 billion which was higher than Frontier's offer of more than $2.6 billion in stock and cash. [11]

Fleet

AirlineAirplaneIn
service
OrdersCountry
Frontier AirlinesAirbus A320 Family121219United States
JetSmart1992Chile
Lynx AirBoeing 737 MAX29Canada
VolarisAirbus A320 Family112104Mexico
Wizz Air176379Hungary
Airbus A3301

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Frontier Airlines is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The carrier is a subsidiary and operating brand of Indigo Partners, LLC, and maintains a hub at Denver International Airport with numerous focus cities across the US and Puerto Rico.

Cebu Air, Inc., operating as Cebu Pacific, is a Philippine low-cost airline based at Pasay in Metro Manila. Founded in 1988, it is Asia's first low-cost airline. It offers scheduled flights to both domestic and international destinations. The airline operates flights from five bases in Cebu, Clark, Davao, Iloilo, and its largest base in Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wizz Air</span> Low-cost airline of Hungary

Wizz Air Holdings plc is a Hungarian ultra low-cost carrier group registered in Jersey. The company includes the subsidiaries Wizz Air Hungary, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Wizz Air UK. The airlines serve numerous cities across Europe, as well as some destinations in North Africa, the Middle East, South, and Central Asia. As of 2023, the airline group has its largest bases at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport and London Luton Airport and flies to 194 airports. The holding company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Arabia</span> Emirati low-cost carrier

Air Arabia is an Emirati low-cost airline with its head office in the A1 Building Sharjah Freight Center, Sharjah International Airport, UAE. The airline operates scheduled services to 170 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and Europe to 22 countries from Sharjah, 28 destinations in 9 countries from Casablanca, Fez, Nador, and Tangier, 11 destinations in 8 countries from Ras Al Khaimah, and 6 destinations in 4 countries from Alexandria. Air Arabia's main base is Sharjah International Airport. There are also hubs in Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi and focus cities in Alexandria and Casablanca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flynas</span> Low-cost airline in Saudi Arabian

Flynas, formerly Nas Air, is a private Saudi low-cost airline "Joint-stock company", It is the first low-cost airline in Saudi Arabia. The company's headquarters is located in Riyadh. It operates more than 1,500 flights per week to more than 70 domestic and international destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. It takes King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah as centers for its operations. Its fleet consists of 60 aircraft until November 2023.

InterGlobe Aviation Limited, doing business as IndiGo, is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 60.5% domestic market share as of March 2024. It is the largest individual Asian airline, and one of the largest in the world in terms of passengers carried, with more than 100 million passengers carried in 2023. As of May 2024, IndiGo operates over 2,000 daily flights to 122 destinations – 88 domestic and 34 international, with a fleet of over 350 aircraft. It has its primary hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubai Airshow</span> Biennial air show held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Dubai Airshow is a biennial air show held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in cooperation with Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai Airports, Dubai World Central and the UAE Armed Forces. It is organised by Tarsus Aerospace since 1989. The event is "open to business professionals and industry only".

Volaris is a Mexican low-cost airline based in Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City with its operating bases in Cancún, Culiacán, Guadalajara, León/Del Bajío, Mexicali, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Tijuana. It is Mexico's largest airline by transported passengers and serves domestic and international destinations within the Americas. It is the leading airline in the Mexican domestic airline market with a market share of 42%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pratt & Whitney PW1000G</span> Geared turbofan engine produced beginning 2007

The Pratt & Whitney PW1000G family, also known as the GTF, is high-bypass geared turbofan produced by Pratt & Whitney. Following years of development and testing on various demonstrators, the program officially launched in 2008 with the PW1200G destined for the Mitsubishi SpaceJet. The first successful flight test occurred later that year. The PW1500G variant, designed for the Airbus A220, became the first certified engine in 2013. The program cost is estimated at $10 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airbus A321neo</span> 2010s narrow-body airliner by Airbus

The Airbus A321neo is a single-aisle airliner created by Airbus. The A321neo is developed from the Airbus A321 and Airbus A320neo family. It is the longest stretched fuselage of Airbus's A320 series, and the newest version of the A321, with the original A321ceo entering service in 1994 with Lufthansa. It typically seats 180 to 220 passengers in a two-class configuration, with up to 244 passengers in a high-density arrangement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scoot</span> Low-cost airline of Singapore

Scoot Pte Ltd, operating as Scoot, is a Singaporean low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. It began its operations on 4 June 2012 on medium and long-haul routes from Singapore, predominantly to various airports throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Scoot's airline slogan is Escape the Ordinary.

Wow Air, stylized as WOW air, was an Icelandic ultra low-cost carrier operating between 2012 and 2019. The airline was headquartered in Reykjavík and based at Keflavík International Airport. It flew between Iceland and the rest of Europe and North America, and also flew to India as part of a wider plan to expand in Asia. The airline abruptly ceased operations on 28 March 2019, when its operating company WOW air hf. went out of business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airbus A320neo family</span> Airliner family, series of improvements across the A320 family

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JetSMART Airlines SpA, stylized as JetSMART, is a Southamerican ultra low-cost carrier created by US investment fund Indigo Partners, which also controls low-cost carriers like US airline Frontier Airlines, Mexico's Volaris and Hungary's Wizz Air. JetSmart's primary base of operations is Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, servicing Santiago, Chile. It also owns and manages JetSmart Argentina, an Argentine subsidiary with a base at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires. The airline commenced scheduled operations on 25 July 2017 with a service from Santiago to Calama. Its CEO and founder is Estuardo Ortiz Porras.

This is a list of aviation-related events in 2018.

This is a list of aviation-related events in 2019.

Fly Play hf. is an Icelandic low-cost airline headquartered in the country's capital of Reykjavík. It operates a fleet of Airbus A320neo family aircraft with a hub at Keflavík International Airport.

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References

  1. "Stocks". Bloomberg News . August 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Stephen Trimble (November 15, 2017). "Indigo Partners signs MoU for 430 A320neos". Flightglobal.
  3. "William A. Franke Ph.D." Bloomberg . Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  4. Julie Johnsson, Mary Schlangenstein, and Benjamin D Katz (November 15, 2017). "Airbus Seals $50 Billion Jet Deal to Outdo Boeing in Dubai". Bloomberg.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Tony Osborne (November 15, 2017). "Massive Narrowbody Aircraft Orders Rattle Dubai". Aviation Week Network.
  6. Edward Russell (November 29, 2018). "Indigo reaches tentative agreement to buy Wow Air". Flightglobal.
  7. Ballah, Brett (March 22, 2019). "WOW Air-Indigo talks collapse, urgent talks begin with Icelandair". Western Aviation News. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  8. Hepher, Tim; Creidi, Imad (November 14, 2021). "Indigo Partners spearheads order for 255 Airbus jets". Reuters. Reuters.
  9. LeBeau, Phil; Josephs, Leslie (February 7, 2022). "Frontier and Spirit to merge, creating fifth-largest airline in U.S. in $6.6 billion deal". CNBC. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  10. Spirit and Frontier Airlines modify their initial agreement and expect to close the transaction soon Aviacionline
  11. Koenig, David (July 27, 2022). "With Frontier deal dead, Spirit ponders sale to JetBlue". AP News. Associated Press.