What are IND’s major recent route network successes?

We continue to attract new airlines and new routes, with flights to 50 nonstop destinations that can connect business and leisure travelers around the world. In March 2019, Spirit Airlines became the newest airline to offer flights out of the Indy airport – which is now served by almost every major airline in the US (all except JetBlue). At Spirit’s inaugural flight celebration at IND they announced two additional nonstop routes (which launched winter 2019), showing their confidence in the Indianapolis market.

In May 2019, the Indy airport celebrated the first anniversary of its flight from Indy to Paris, France on Delta Air Lines. At its launch, the flight established Indiana’s first year-round nonstop transatlantic service to Europe. A year later, the flight is meeting expectations with more than 1,000 passengers on average flying between Indianapolis and Paris weekly. The Paris route opened up convenient travel to over 900 foreign-owned businesses that call Indiana home.
In addition, Allegiant’s plane and crew base that opened at IND in 2018 has contributed to additional route announcements by Allegiant furthering their growth in Indianapolis. This year, they launched two new nonstop flights from Indy to West Palm Beach, Florida and Tucson, Arizona.
At the beginning of this year, American Airlines announced a new nonstop route from Indy to Boston, Massachusetts set to launch in May 2020. The new flight to Boston will put the number of nonstop destinations American Airlines serves out of Indianapolis at 11 connecting Hoosiers to major business and leisure destinations. American Airlines averages 40 flight departures per day—the most among Indy airport airlines—and carried on average 22% of the 2019 monthly passenger traffic.
What are the targets for future growth?

The Indianapolis economy has changed significantly over the last five years as tech companies such as Salesforce and Infosys establish roots alongside legacy life sciences and advanced manufacturing industry leaders such as Eli Lilly, Rolls Royce and Cummins. Routes Americas is a terrific opportunity to showcase Indy’s new, thriving economy.
Beyond technology, manufacturing and life sciences, Indianapolis is known as the “amateur sports capital of the world” and is home to the NCAA headquarters, along with hosting multiple major college and professional sporting events throughout the year with commitments into the future, including the NFL Combine (committed through 2021), 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend, 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, 2022 College Football Playoff National Championships, and 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four – in addition to world-famous racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which hosts the Indianapolis 500 (the largest single-day sporting event), Brickyard 400 and other racing events throughout the year – bringing crowds from around the world.
With all of this in mind, our air service strategy continues to focus on increased service in both domestic and international markets, including:

  • West Coast of the US
  • Drive markets from Indianapolis such as St. Louis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Memphis, Cleveland and more
  • International markets in Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia

Are you focusing on new airlines or increased service?

We’re focusing on both opportunities to broaden the airline makeup at IND while also fulfilling strategic route needs both domestically and internationally from Indianapolis. We’ve seen success in recent years welcoming new airlines such as Spirit and Alaska, along with offering the most nonstops destinations in the airport’s history. IND is experiencing record-breaking passenger traffic serving more than 9.4 million passengers a year.