India’s GoAir rebrands, shifts to ULCC model

As it prepares for its Initial Public Offering (IPO), GoAir (G8, Mumbai Int’l) has taken the step of shifting to what it called an ultra-low-cost model while rebranding itself as Go First, the company announced on May 13. The carrier said it was “transitioning all its operations under this new brand,” aimed at younger travellers, as it prepared for its “next phase of growth.” “India is a fast-developing airline market. Consumers in India are hugely value conscious but are quite demanding when it comes to the flying experience,” the company’s vice chairman and former Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int’l) CEO Ben Baldanza explained. The following day, on May 14 – a month later than planned – the Wadia Group-owned carrier filed its draft red herring prospectus, or offer document, ahead of the planned IPO, which will be managed by ICICI Securities, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley. According to the prospectus, it wants to raise INR3.6 billion rupees (USD49 million) via a fresh issue of shares. The rebranding has not brought immediate, visible changes on the ground or in its marketing materials, the Indian business news site Money Control reported, but full-page advertisements appeared in newspapers across the country on May 13 announcing the rebranding. The wording of an announcement on the GoAir website vaguely mentioned only “multiple domestic and international destinations” and “point-to-point flights.” According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced and ch-aviation capacities modules, GoAir currently operates an all-leased fleet of forty-eight A320-200Ns and seven A320-200s, deploying them on 75 routes (down from 99 in late March, before the latest coronavirus wave swept across India). It has a further ninety-six A320neo on order.