Flipkart-owned Cleartrip is aiming to reach breakeven by early 2027 by reducing its dependence on flights and expanding its hotels, trains and bus verticals. Chief growth and business officer Manjari Singhal said flights currently account for about 80% of the company’s revenue, while non-air categories contribute around 20-22%. The company wants non-air revenue to rise to 30-32% by December 2026 and 45% a year later.
The strategy places Cleartrip more directly against scaled travel platforms with broader portfolios across hotels, intercity transport and holiday categories. Flights remain a high-volume business, but margins and differentiation can be tighter, especially when price comparison and discount-led acquisition dominate user behaviour. Hotels, buses and trains offer more room for packaging, repeat behaviour, partnerships and inventory-led differentiation, but they also bring established incumbents and operational complexity.
Singhal described Cleartrip as India’s second-largest air-bookings player and a “fourth-ish” player in hotels, while noting that approaching the market leader would take a couple of years. The company has not disclosed FY26 revenue or losses, and Singhal acknowledged that it is still loss-making. That makes the early-2027 breakeven target a clear operating test for the platform as it tries to expand category mix without escalating burn.
Cleartrip is leaning on Flipkart’s customer base, bank partnerships, direct hotel inventory and transparent airfare positioning as differentiators. Partner-led channels have become a larger part of its business, generating 25-30% of transactions, up from 12% in January. Partners fund an estimated 35-40% of discounts, giving Cleartrip a way to support customer offers without carrying the full promotional burden on its own balance sheet.
The competitive context is demanding. MakeMyTrip and its associated brands have scale across flights, hotels and buses, while Ixigo has built strong rail and bus positions through ConfirmTkt and AbhiBus. IRCTC continues to dominate online train bookings, with Singhal estimating its share at 80-85%. Cleartrip’s path therefore depends on whether it can use Flipkart’s ecosystem to lower acquisition costs, cross-sell travel to commerce users and build enough supply depth in non-air categories.
For Indian travel tech, Cleartrip’s plan signals a broader shift from category presence to profitability-linked portfolio design. Growth in online travel remains attractive, but public-market and strategic investors are increasingly focused on contribution margins, customer acquisition efficiency and evidence that platforms can grow without relying indefinitely on discounts.
