IndiGo’s billionaire founder partners UPS for logistics venture

The biggest shareholder of India’s largest airline, IndiGo, teamed up with United Parcel Service Inc. to tap the South Asian nation’s growing logistics market.

Rahul Bhatia-owned InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd., which owns 37.82% of IndiGo, has formed a joint venture with UPS for a brand called Movin, J.B. Singh, a director at the Indian partner, said at a press conference in New Delhi Thursday.

Movin will launch operations in a phased manner and begin services in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in July, Singh said. It will focus on domestic business-to-business logistics services with express, and day-and-time definite deliveries, giving businesses better predictability and competitiveness, UPS President for India Ufku Akaltan said at the same event.

IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta clarified on an earnings call Wednesday that the cargo arrangement between InterGlobe and Atlanta-based UPS is a standalone operation and has nothing to do with the airline. UPS will likely focus on small shipments and surface transport, while IndiGo is into consolidated deliveries, he said.

IndiGo, also the largest domestic cargo airline, is planning to source four converted Airbus SE A321 aircraft for full-time cargo operations, locally and internationally, as goods movement was a bright spot for airlines through the pandemic. IndiGo is expecting to take delivery of its first freighter in the first half of 2022 and the rest within a year.