India’s IndiGo Emerges As The Most Valuable Airline In World

India’s largest and affordable airline, IndiGo, has made history by becoming the most valuable airline globally, surpassing all international peers.

In just one year, it went beyond global giants like Delta Airlines and Ryanair to occupy the world’s top position by market capitalization.

It was occupying the fourth position a year ago but now, it jumped to the first position with its shares surging 35% from their November lows. In contrast, Delta’s stock has tumbled nearly 50% in the last two months.

IndiGo Airlines stocks gained 13% so far pushing its market cap past Rs 2 lakh crore ($23.3 billion). The IndiGo stock ended nearly 1% higher on Wednesday, defying the broader market trend.

Delta Airlines holds the second position with a market valuation of $23.2 billion and Ryanair Holdings stands in the third position with $21.3 billion, reported Bloomberg data.

Further, IndiGo is the only airline among the top ten in the world that has recorded a gain in stock price so far this year. Its shares have grown 14% year-to-date, hitting a high on April 9. This happened while the shares of Delta Airlines and United Airlines plunged 41% each during the same period.

Having captured more than 60% of the market in India, IndiGo holds a dominant position in the nation’s aviation sector. It is mainly focusing on expanding its international presence from 28% in FY25 to 40% by FY30.

But, in terms of operational fleet size, IndiGo ranks fourth globally after United Airlines which has 965 aircraft, Delta Airlines with 928, and China Eastern Airlines with 640.

As of February 2025, IndiGo had 439 aircraft, with an operational fleet of 355.

IndiGo is planning to add nearly 50 new aircraft in FY26 to its existing fleet of 439, even when 50 of them are currently grounded.