Will start receiving ordered Boeing planes from mid-2018, says SpiceJet

Stating that Indian aviation market is the fastest growing in the world, SpiceJet on Monday said that it aspires to be the most profitable airline in the country. “We have the best on-time performance in the industry. We will try to reduce costs and increase ancillary revenue,” it said. The low-cost carrier also said that it will start receiving the ordered Boeing planes from mid-2018.
Meanwhile, India’s domestic travel demand in 2016 touched nearly 100 million mark, with the Indian airlines flying a total of 998.88 lakh (99.88 million) passengers between the January-December period of 2016 as compared to 810.91 lakh in 2015, an increase of 23.18 per cent over 2015. The data showed that the low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) during the month under review at 93.7 per cent. “Not only have we scored a hat-trick with the best OTP (on-time performance) for the third consecutive month in a row, we have also recorded over 90 per cent passenger load factor for 21 successive months,” G.P. Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer, SpiceJet, said in a statement.
Recently SpiceJet also changed the uniform of its workforce. The uniforms retain the carrier’s signature red colour largely, while incorporating new designs. Inspired by the airline’s image of “Red.Hot.Spicy”, the new range of uniforms has been introduced to enhance the style quotient. The new range includes a unique design for each department, specifically styled to suit the different seasons. For instance, the summer wear for the female cabin crew will include a one-piece dress. The range for pilots includes a single button slim cut black suit for men.
27/02/17 Financial Express

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SpiceJet to launch Kolkata-Dhaka service from March 23

Low budget airlines SpiceJet on Sunday announced that it would launch a direct service on the Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata sector from March 23. With addition of the Bangladesh capital, the airline will operate to 7 international destinations, a SpiceJet release said. “To celebrate the launch of the new route, the airline has also announced an introductory promotional fare of Rs 3,549 (all inclusive) for Kolkata-Dhaka and BDT 4,325 (all inclusive) for Dhaka-Kolkata,” it said.
Dhaka is the second international destination after Bangkok that Spicejet will be serving with a direct daily flight from Kolkata.
“The new daily flight on the Kolkata-Dhaka route will help increase the connectivity with Bangladesh from India. Travellers coming for medical and business purposes will benefit from this new flight,” said company Chairman Ajay Singh.
“With our much awaited mega Boeing deal finally concluded, the time is now ripe for SpiceJet to eye new markets and boost connectivity,” he added.
26/02/17 The Indian Express

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Rabbits to blame for another near miss

A major accident between two planes, an IndiGo and a SpiceJet aircraft was averted at Ahmedabad airport due to the presence of rabbits on the airstrip, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reported.

The incident occurred on Friday evening when a SpiceJet flight had to abort take-off at the last minute as an IndiGo plane could not clear the runway due to the presence of rabbits on the airstrip at the airport.

The SpiceJet aircraft was ferrying at least 400 passengers between them at Ahmedabad airport.

The incident occurred late on Friday evening just before a SpiceJet flight was about to take-off when the alert ATC personnel noticed that the IndiGo plane which had landed sometime back had still not cleared the runway.

The ATC controller than proceeded swiftly to instruct the SpiceJet aircraft to perform a rejected take-off (RTO). The RTO is as a maneuvre performed by the flight commander to discontinue a take-off after the engines thrust have been initiated and the aircraft starts rolling for the take-off. “On 24th February 2017, Spicejet Boeing 737-700 ,aircraft VT-SLB was scheduled to operate SG-912, sector AMD-DEL,” a SpiceJet spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement.

“The aircraft backtracked and lined up on the runway and was cleared by ATC for take-off. However the ATC, noticed that the previous flight of another airline, which had landed had still had not vacated the runway.”
26/02/17 The Free Press Journal

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Collision between aircraft averted at Ahmedabad airport

New Delhi:  In yet another case of an air miss, an incident between IndiGo and a SpiceJet aircraft was averted at Ahmedabad airport.

According to official sources, the incident occurred on Friday evening when a SpiceJet flight had to abort take-off at the last minute as an IndiGo plane could not clear the runway due to the presence of rabbits on the airstrip at the airport.

The matter has been reported the aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

According to sources, the SpiceJet pilot saw Indigo flight was still on the runway whereas it was supposed to be off the runway by then. They were asked to enter backtrack and wait departure clearance.

However, a moment later air traffic control at Ahmedabad intervened. The pilot of Indigo reported that there were some rabbits on the runway and this required the ATC to advise SpiceJet to hold position, forcing the pilot to abort take-off at the last minute.

As the IndiGo pilot stopped the aircraft, the nose of the aircraft was still on taxiway and tail of aircraft still on the runway. While SpiceJet pilots maintain in their report that the IndiGo aircraft wasn’t cleared off the runway when SpiceJet was ready to take off.

Both the pilots reported ATC about the incident to the DGCA.
25/02/17 New Indian Express

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To save company, Snapdeal bosses try Spicejet chief’s route

When online shop Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal told anxious staff that they would share the pain of the rank and file, they were following a lofty example: SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh had foregone his monthly envelope until the foundering airline revived.
According to sources, Bahl, Bansal and Singh met for lunch in January and over the meal the founders decided to lead by example. Singh followed up the lunch engagement with a visit to Snapdeal's Gurgaon office on February 1 to tell the top management ways to revive the retailer, sources told ET.
"The lunch meeting between the two founders and Singh also discussed change in strategy from going after market share through discounts to working towards profitability. The founders were also advised by Singh to lead by examples and take a pay cut before going for a pay cut of its employees," said a source in the know, who did not want to be identified.
24/02/17 Mihir Mishra & Biswarup Gooptu/The Times Of India

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SpiceJet can become India's first long-haul low-cost carrier

New Delhi: SpiceJet is exploring options that may transform it as India's first long-haul low-cost airline. SpiceJet could well be India's first low-cost long-haul carrier. -
With the airline in a comfortable financial position, it is looking for avenues to make profits.

Ajay Singh, the CEO of the airline, feels India has potential for low-cost, long-haul flying with so many Indians willing to explore international destinations.

Singh said it is an idea which is in its infancy and a lot of groundwork has to be done before the final leap is taken which includes acquiring planes, setting up simulator facilities, and then deciding which international routes it can operate profitably.

"Firstly narrow body aircraft give us another hour of flying and this opens up several new destinations for us to explore," said Singh.
24/02/17 AsiaOne

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Air India vs SpiceJet: Airlines woo fliers with cheap fares, free tickets

Air India and SpiceJet came out with offers, including free tickets, to attract more fliers as the airlines look to increase seat occupancy amid stiff competition.

While Air India is giving one ticket free for every booking in First Class and Business Class, SpiceJet would be offering tickets priced as low as Rs 777 on select routes.

Amid the domestic aviation sector growing at over 20 percent for the past two years, airlines are working on ways to tap the demand, mainly by way of discounted tickets. Under the 'Buy One Fly Two' offer, national carrier Air India would give one ticket free on First Class and Business Class on non-metro routes in the domestic sector. Both bookings and travel would be valid till May 31, according to a release.
23/02/17 Business Standard

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Spicejet crack puts travellers in a tizzy

A cracked windshield delayed a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight from Pune by more than eight hours on Wednesday, with passengers being made to wait it out at the airport itself.

“The passengers were asked to board the plane despite the cracked windshield. The authorities should have known about the problem earlier. It is like playing with the lives of 189 passengers,” rued Satish Banwat, one of the travellers who was part of a 35- member team from the Pune Metal Finishers’ Association (PMFA), which was going to Delhi to attend a national- level Indian Surface Finishing (ISF-2017) conference and exhibition, scheduled to be held at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan from Wednesday till Friday.

As many as 42 passengers had to cancel their tickets and were refunded by Spice Jet. The SpiceJet flight SG 184 arrived in Pune from Kochi and was converted into SG 999. Seventy five passengers, who were in hurry to reach Delhi, were asked to board the flight which left for Delhi at 4 pm. The morning flight, which had developed the problem, was finally sent to Delhi at 5 pm, with rest 72 of the passengers.

Naturally, everybody was livid by the constant rescheduling. PMFA member Nitin Kapre told Pune Mirror, “The original flight timing was 7.20 am, for which boarding was begun at 8 am. After 20 minutes, we were asked to deplane. We were informed that the flight will depart at 10.30 am. Later, after we asked the authorities, they said it has been rescheduled to 12.30 pm. Finally, SpiceJet said in a statement that the flight will depart at 4 pm.”
23/02/17 Pune Mirror

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Airlines woo fliers with cheap fares, free tickets

New Delhi: Air India and SpiceJet on Wednesday came out with offers, including free tickets, to attract more fliers as the airlines look to increase seat occupancy amid stiff competition.
While Air India is giving one ticket free for every booking in First Class and Business Class, SpiceJet would be offering tickets priced as low as Rs 777 on select routes.
Amid the domestic aviation sector growing at over 20 per cent for the past two years, airlines are working on ways to tap the demand, mainly by way of discounted tickets.
Under the 'Buy One Fly Two' offer, national carrier Air India would give one ticket free on First Class and Business Class on non-metro routes in the domestic sector. Both bookings and travel would be valid till May 31, according to a release.
An official at Air India said the scheme is aimed at increasing the occupancy in these two classes where generally only around 50 per cent of the seats are filled.
The sale would be open till midnight of February 25 while people can book the tickets under this window for travel between March 9 and April 13.
The Rs 777 all inclusive fare is valid on various routes including Jammu-Srinagar and Agartala-Guwahati.
22/02/17 PTI/Times of India

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Slight crack in windshield delays Spicejet’s Pune-Delhi flight

Pune: A Delhi-bound Spicejet flight from here was delayed for around nine hours after a “slight crack” was noticed on the pilot side windshield, which was replaced subsequently.
The flight which was originally scheduled for departure at 7.20 AM, ultimately took off at 4.25 PM from the international airport in Lohegaon.
“Flight SG 999 operating Pune to Delhi while preparing for departure noticed a slight crack on the pilot side windshield,” Spicejet said in a statement.
As a standard measure it was decided to replace the windscreen, it said.
“The men and material required to replace the windscreen were moved from Delhi and Chennai, but as the Pune runway was closed from 8 am to 10:30 am, the flight carrying spares landed at only 11:00 am,” reads the statement.
22/02/17 India.com

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40 passengers stranded at airport

Pune: As many as 40 passengers were stranded for around eight hours at Pune airport after the windscreen of a SpiceJet flight was found broken.

According to Times Now, SpiceJet flight number 999 from Pune to Delhi which was scheduled to take off at 7:20am was delayed by eight hours.

Sources from SpiceJet told Times Now that there was a crack seen in the windscreen which is currently being repaired.

According to the latest report by ANI, the required spare parts have reached Pune and the replacement process is underway. The flight is expected to take off around 4pm.
22/02/17 Pune Mirror

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SpiceJet Offers Rs. 777 All-Inclusive Fares Under 'Lucky 7 Sale'

Budget carrier SpiceJet has unveiled a promotional scheme offering all-inclusive fares starting Rs. 777 on its domestic network. Under its "Lucky 7 Sale" offer, SpiceJet has put on offer a limited inventory available on a first-come, first-served basis, the airline said. Bookings to avail SpiceJet's "Lucky 7" scheme can be made till Saturday, February 25, 2017. This SpiceJet offer, which comes on the heels of discounted tariffs by rival airlines, covers a travel period from March 9, 2017 to April 13, 2017. "The discount will be applicable on one-way fares only," the airline - which competes with the likes of Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways and AirAsia India - further said on its website.

A search on the SpiceJet website showed a one-way ticket for flying from Delhi to Jaipur in mid-March was available for booking at Rs. 1,036.

Discounted fares from various airlines have spurred strong growth in air travel market in India. The country's domestic air passenger traffic zoomed 25.13 per cent to 95.79 lakh last month, data from aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) showed.

Rival airlines AirAsia India and Jet Airways announced discounted tariffs earlier this month. Jet Airways, in a promotional sale aimed at Valentine's Day celebrations, offered all-inclusive domestic fares from Rs. 999. Days after that, AirAsia India offered all-inclusive tickets starting Rs. 1,099 in a promotional scheme.
22/02/17 Sandeep Singh/NDTV

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SpiceJet Says India's $85 Billion Plane Orders Still Not Enough

India’s airlines have ordered about 850 planes valued at about $85 billion in recent years. SpiceJet Ltd., a budget carrier, says that’s still not enough to meet demand.

SpiceJet, which last month ordered as many as 205 Boeing Co. jets worth $22 billion, is being rather conservative with its purchases, the carrier’s chairman Ajay Singh told Rishaad Salamat in a Bloomberg Television interview in Singapore on Wednesday. Demand will surge with more Indians starting to fly, fueled by economic growth in smaller towns, he said.

“With all the orders that all the Indian airlines have placed, counting for replacements, we will have 800 planes in 10 years from now,” Singh said. “That’s not a lot of planes. That’s the same number of planes that Southwest Airlines has today.”

India -- the world’s fastest growing major aviation market --is among battlegrounds in emerging markets for planemakers like Boeing and Airbus Group SE, as a rising middle class flies for the first time. The potential has made Singapore Airlines Ltd. and AirAsia Bhd. set up local units that are grappling with poor infrastructure, cut-throat fare wars and taxes that make jet fuel the costliest in Asia.
“We have to keep on developing the infrastructure,” Singh said. “A lot of the growth in India is not happening in Mumbai and Delhi, it’s happening in tier-2, tier-3 towns.”
22/02/17 Anurag Kotoky/Bloomberg

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IndiGo and SpiceJet square off in the OTP war

The past month has seen a war of words between IndiGo and SpiceJet on the issue of on-time performance, or OTP. On January 31, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said in an analysts conference call that “we suspect that the OTP statistics of some of our competitors in India is not quite correct.” He added that the airline had submitted evidence to industry regulator DGCA and had asked for a detailed investigation.

SpiceJet officials had earlier wondered why IndiGo had no problem with the methodology of data collection when it was on the top of the table.

DGCA’s data shows that in December last year, SpiceJet recorded a OTP of 70 per cent at the four metro airports while Jet Airways and JetLite reported an OTP of 64.3 per cent, Vistara 64.2 per cent, GoAir63.6 per cent, IndiGo 61.6 per cent and Air India brought in the rear with a performance of 59 per cent in its domestic flights.

While neither of the airlines has named each other and haven’t talked to the media, the DGCA too has kept mum. But the statements have continued.

Earlier this month, SpiceJet issued a statement quoting Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, saying “the airline had emerged as the most punctual airline for the fourth successive month.” Not everyone was amused.
21/02/17 Ashwini Phadnis/The Hindu Businessline

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Hitting an air-pocket

The paradox is striking. On the one hand, more and more Indians are taking to the skies. But on the other, airlines’ bottom-lines are shrinking.

In the recent December quarter, domestic air passenger traffic grew 23 per cent y-o- y to 2.72 crore. But all the three listed carriers — IndiGo Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet — saw their earnings dip in what is considered a seasonally strong quarter. The profit of IndiGo and SpiceJet fell about 25 per cent y-o- y, while that of Jet Airways saw a much steeper fall of about 70 per cent. What gives?

Two factors — rising costs, especially that of fuel, and lower ticket prices — took a toll. With crude oil staging a comeback the past few months, the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) headed north. As a percentage of sales, the carriers spent about 4-7 percentage points more on fuel in the recent December quarter, compared with the year-ago period. But rather than increasing ticket prices to offset the impact, the carriers took sharp cuts. Yields in the quarter fell about 16 per cent y-o- y for IndiGo, 10 per cent for SpiceJet and 3 per cent for Jet Airways. Blame this on price wars in the intensely competitive Indian skies.

The problem got compounded by demonetisation during the quarter with airlines slashing fares to offset the impact of the high-value note ban on passenger traffic. So, despite high passenger numbers, airlines’ revenue growth lagged far behind costs.
21/02/17 Anand Kalyanaraman/The Hindu Business Line

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SpiceJet offers discounts on its SpiceMax seats

Mumbai: SpiceJet Monday announced an offer of Rs 250 off on its SpiceMax category, the wider, roomier seats on the front end of its aircraft.

The airline, along with its peers, has been offering such discounts in the ongoing lean travel season.

Last week, it introduced a flat 10% discount on flights to Muscat from India.
The offer is valid for travel till March 25, the airline said.

Before that, the low fare carrier had announced a 7% discount on flights to Dubai.
20/02/17 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Amsterdam couple demand refund from Spice Jet

Hyderabad: A couple from Amsterdam who travelled by Spice Jet Airliner recently charged the airline of unprofessional service and demanded that 388.46 Euros they had spent for their travel be refunded.

The couple Kathleen Satur and Franciscus Bouwman, shared on Facebook what they described as the problem suffered by them during the flight to Hyderabad from Colombo. The flight, they said, was to take off from Colombo at 5.30 pm and reach Hyderabad via Madurai at 9.15 pm.

“A few minutes before the plane was scheduled, we noticed that the departure was advanced to 6.30 pm and the staff reasoned that there was some technical problem. Due to it the flight did not take off till late in the night,” Franciscus Bouwman wrote in a post shared on Facebook.

The airlines staff collected the passports from the passengers saying that they will arrange another flight. All of them were then asked to collect their baggage and asked to wait for the flight. “Instead of arranging another flight, the Spice Jet staff asked us to choose between fare reimbursements or wait. To our fate we had to wait till February 12 and fend ourselves with our own money. The staff showed no sympathy nor were they cooperative. Least expected of any airlines,” he said.
20/02/17 TelanganaToday

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‘With more people flying us, trust has returned’

SpiceJet, which was almost on the verge of closure, has now become one of the profitable low-cost air carriers in the country. Since 2015, when the original founder Ajay Singh took charge of the carrier, it has been on a turn-around path. Its stock rose more than 3 times to Rs. 61.9 on February 17, compared with May 2015. The chairman and managing director of SpiceJet talks about the challenges and the journey ahead for the airline. Edited excerpts:

It is two years since you took charge of the company. How has the comeback been?

Our comeback has been an exciting story.

The company was almost shut down and the management even wrote a letter to the government in December 2014 saying they are closing shop.

Our passengers panicked even as a large number of flights were cancelled. Nobody was booking tickets. Everything that can go wrong had happened; people wanted to take back the planes.

Since then, we have worked hard to take this U-turn for success.

We have had eight quarters of profit, and for 22 months in a row the load factor has been more than 92%. We have the best on-time performance compared to other airlines in India. We have also placed a large order for 200 aircraft. So, it’s a sea of change at SpiceJet.

The trust has returned which is evident in the number of people flying.

The feel-good factor is in seeing people retain their jobs in the company. Airline failures are depressing for the economy.

Kingfisher was a bad advertisement about the Indian aviation sector. We are glad that we were able to prevent another Kingfisher from happening in India.

We are flying to 6 international destinations from India and are looking at newer ones. We are also discussing code-sharing agreements with many operators.
20/02/17 Pradeesh Chandran/The Hindu

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Clean sweep for SpiceJet at AsiaOne Awards, Singapore

It was a clean sweep for India's favourite airline - SpiceJet at the Asia One Awards, Singapore - as it walked away with top recognition in three prime categories. The airline which has been trending all through 2016 with multiple awards and accolades was adorned 'Asia's Greatest Brands - 2016' by the Asia One Board. The selection process was supervised by Price waterhouse Coopers.

SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Ajay Singh, who has scripted the most remarkable turnaround story of recent times, was honored with the title of the 'Global Asian of the year' while Chief Financial Officer Mr. Kiran Koteshwar won the award for 'Asia's Greatest CFO 2016'.

"This is a most exciting time for SpiceJet and it gives us immense pleasure to witness the continued momentum in our performance. The awards are a source of huge encouragement as it recognizes the transformation of our business while reiterating the best-in-class experience being delivered through path-breaking products and customised services. 2016 was eventful and we look forward to a bigger and bolder 2017," said Mr. Ajay Singh - CMD, SpiceJet.
19/02/17 Equipty Bulls

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Pax traffic continues solid growth; SpiceJet most punctual airline

India’s air passenger traffic crew by 25.13% in January 2017 with domestic airlines carrying 95.79 lakh passengers as against 76.55 lakh during the corresponding period last year.

Ajay Singh-led SpiceJet continued with its impressive performance emerging as the country’s most punctual airline yet again.

January was the fourth month-in-a-row that the SpiceJet recorded the best On-Time Performance (OTP) among all Indian carriers.

In yet another achievement, the airline clocked a passenger load factor in excess of 90% for the 22nd successive month. SpiceJet’s passenger occupancy stood at 93.6%
in January, according to the figures released by the DGCA.
17/02/17 DefenceAviationPost

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SpiceJet profit crashes 24% on note ban, rising fuel prices

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet recorded a 24 per cent decline in net profit, at Rs 181.1 crore, in the quarter-ended December, from Rs 239.9 crore in the year-ago period.

The airline attributed it to the softening of demand due to demonetisation.

The airline’s total income from operations was Rs 1,642.4 crore, higher than Rs 1,460 crore earned during the same period last year. However, fuel cost increased to Rs 473.7 crore in the quarter against Rs 366.6 crore in the year-ago period.


Rising oil prices have started denting the profitability of Indian carriers.

Jet Airways reported a net profit of Rs 142.4 crore in the quarter ended December — down 70 per cent from Rs 467.1 crore in the year-ago period.

The airline’s CMD Ajay Singh said that minus the impact of demonetisation, the airline performed well in all aspects.
15/02/17 Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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We don’t do anything at the cost of profitability: SpiceJet CEO

Low cost airline, SpiceJet has had a remarkable run during the last two years posting eight consecutive quarters of profits. In an interview with BusinessLine, the airline’s CEO, Ajay Singh on the sidelines of the CNN Asia Business Forum meet, shares the way ahead and the challenges that confront the carrier. Excerpts:

Spicejet must be one of the few airlines which has had a successful turnaround. How much of money have you returned to the lessors, oil companies etc. so far?

An airline shutting down is a very bad thing not only for the airline but for the sector itself.

When we started the process of turning around the airline in 2015, we didn’t want to see a repeat of Kingfisher Airlines. We wanted to pay everyone whom we owed money.

So, we decided to resolve these issues head on. We told them that here is the plan; we asked them to believe us. What else could we do anyway? But we were happy they trusted us. We have also shown that we were worthy of that trust.

In the last two years, we have paid more or less everyone. We have totally paid back ₹2,000 crore.

No equity has been raised and no loans have been taken for the revival of the airline. The government provided us with moral support which actually helped us a lot.

The turnaround has actually been built on aggressive pricing; rapid expansion leading up to a huge order being placed with Boeing?

It was for us to get the costs down. We worked hard to renegotiate contracts, cut out unviable routes and at the same time get more frequencies on certain routes. You might feel the pricing might be aggressive but the actual fact is that the average fares have gone up and so have the yields.

Our average fares are probably higher than our nearest competitor. Our ancillary revenues which used to be around 6 per cent is now at 16 per cent.

You see, the model has remained the same but earlier it was bleeding and now we have had profits for the last eight quarters. So, a lot of hard work has gone into it to lower costs all around. The debt too has reduced considerably which is about ₹500 crore which is payment as usual.
13/02/17 K Giriprakash/The Business Line

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Spice Jet launches direct flight on Delhi-Bangkok route

Low cost airline SpiceJet on Monday announced the launch of a direct flight on the Delhi-Bangkok-Delhi route from April 15 2017.
The one-way fares for the Delhi-Bangkok route will start from Rs. 7,999 (all inclusive) whereas for Bangkok-Delhi route will start from Rs. 8633 (all in). Bookings for the routes are currently open, said the airline in a press statement.
The service on the Delhi-Bangkok route, commencing on April 15 will be operational six days a week (except Tuesday) and after May 9 the service would be a daily one.
13/02/17 Manju V/The Times Of India

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SpiceJet sees challenging year ahead as fuel prices, competition hurt; shares trade firm

The low-cost airline SpiceJet expects the current year 2017 to be challenging due to high competition and increasing global crude oil prices, its Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.
“2017 is going to be a challenging year. Fuel prices are inching up and there is competitive intensity in the market,” Ajay Singh said in an interview with CNBC TV18.
Global crude oil prices have been steadily rising since November when the OPEC countries and 11 other major producers decided to cut production in order to support prices. Brent crude futures were trading at $55.63 per barrel on Tuesday, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $52.97 per barrel.
Rising crude oil prices hurt airlines, as jet fuel makes up for the single largest part of their operating costs.
Shares of SpiceJet were trading firm at Rs 64.65, up 1.02%, ahead of its fiscal third quarter earnings due later today, where it is expected to report that its yields were under pressure because of the competition in the industry. SpiceJet competes with other low-cost airlines including IndiGo, GoAir and AirAsia, and often with full-service airlines such as Jet Airways, Air India and Vistara.
14/02/17 The Financial Express

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India’s budget carrier SpiceJet places UAE at core of expansion strategy

Mumbai: The UAE as a destination is a crucial part of SpiceJet’s expansion strategy, says Ajay Singh, the airline’s chairman and managing director, as it looks to stay profitable just two years after the budget Indian airline was on the brink of collapse.

Mr Singh wants to increase flights from India to Dubai by 50 per cent – to 15 flights a day within a few months from its current 10 daily flights.


"Now there are negotiations going on between UAE and India to increase some of the flying rights between the two countries and we expect that will happen very soon," he said. "We already have the landing slots in the airport in Dubai and take-off positions and so on, so as soon as the bilaterals are done we’ll be able to [start the new flights]", he said, adding that the rights should take about two to three months to come through.


The company is planning to launch flights to Sharjah this year, although a date has not yet been fixed, Mr Singh said. Muscat in Oman is another Arabian Gulf destination it plans to start flying to.
"We’ve focused in the Middle East in a significant way," he said. The company had just four flights into Dubai before he took over in 2015, he said.


"Our focus is really on profit­ability. We are not in this just to go on increasing market share. India has a lot of unmet demand in certain segments for the Middle East. There are a lot of Indians living and working there and increasingly a large number of Indians who want to visit there for travel and tourism."

Other airlines are also focusing on meeting the travel demands of Indian passengers. Etihad Airways recently announced plans to launch a third daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Bangalore from next month.


SpiceJet, which has 50 planes, last month unveiled a US$22 billion deal with Boeing for up to 205 planes.
13/02/17 Rebecca Bundhun/The National

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Accelerating Defence Ties With India, Boeing Creates Indian Arm–Boeing Defense India

Close on the heels of its recent $22 bn mega deal for supply of airplanes to India’s SpiceJet, US aviation giant Boeing is now betting big on India’s defence sector. In a significant step, Boeing on Wednesday announced the establishment of Boeing Defense India (BDI), a local operating entity.

This India specific entity will support the Boeing’s future growth objectives in India in the areas of services and support, sales and marketing, sourcing, manufacturing and engineering.

Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India, will lead BDI and the expansion of the Boeing Global Services organization in India to better serve customers in India including the Indian government, while continuing his responsibilities as president of Boeing India.

It is significant to note here that after the recent deal with France to procure 36 Rafael fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, the next big purchase from India’s Defence sector would be that of a carrier based fighter. Indian Navy has recently released a detailed Request for Information for procurement of 57 Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighters (MRCBF) and Boeing is one of the strong contenders for supplying its F/A-18 Super Hornet in this category.

“As a key market for Boeing, we are making the changes necessary to position ourselves for future growth, drive decision making closer to the customer, strengthen partnerships with local companies in India and accelerate our efforts to achieve the country’s ‘Make in India’ vision,” said Leanne Caret, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security after the announcement over BDI.

“BDI will serve as a framework enabling us to draw on the growth and productivity benefits that India can offer Boeing,”she added.

BDI will oversee Boeing’s recent investments in India including the Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) joint venture, the C-17 simulator training center, Boeing’s sourcing and manufacturing activities, sales and marketing activities and the engineering center expansion.
08/02/17 Anupama Airy/Defence Aviation Post

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‘Profitability Is More Important Than Market Share’

After a great turnaround, SpiceJet is now entering a new growth era, SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh tells Ashish Sinha.
Seven continuous quarters of profits and best passenger load factor; how are things now for SpiceJet?
So far, so good. Given the place from where we came — when the airline was shutting down — we have come a long way. Today, we have one of the best on-time performances (OTP) and the highest load factor of 92 per cent for 19 months in a row. We are in a good position.

What did you do to make things right?
The very first thing was to instil confidence in everybody that the airline will continue to fly and not shut down. We had to give the confidence to our business partners, travel agents, employees and everybody connected with the business that the airline will stay and prosper. That is how we started restoring confidence. We decided that there won’t be any more cancellations going forward. We made it a point to tell everyone which flights were flying and which were not. I wanted to be honest with everybody. I wanted to put operations back in order. We had to ensure that the planes were not going to be taken away by the lessors. We took aircraft on wet lease.

How bad was the financial situation in those days?
It was very bad. We were in a situation where immediate payables of around Rs 2,200-2.300 crore were hanging on our head. It was clear that the money could not have been paid right away. So, I asked everybody to give me some time before I could start paying back. We had to make a timetable. I got tremendous support from lenders as many felt that since I had done this before, I would be able to do it again. I told everyone that I will not be asking for more. But I also told them that I will freeze the current payments and pay on a day-to-day basis. The very first task was to keep all the aircraft flying. For that we needed money, for aviation turbine fuel (ATF), and salaries of employees. The basics had to be done. So, we started doing those things right.
07/02/17 Ashish Sinha/BW Business World

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SpiceJet offers tickets starting at Rs 888 till tomorrow

Budget carrier SpiceJet is offering flight tickets starting at Rs 888, inclusive of all the taxes, till tomorrow, February 7, 2017.

In the 'SpiceJet Great Budget Sale' you can book tickets for travel period of February 19 - April 12th.

According to the budget carrier's website, the discount is applicable on one-way tickets only and on bookings made across channels. The tickets booked will be refundable, however, the terms & conditions say that refunds to the extent of statutory taxes will be refunded.
06/02/17 DNA

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SpiceJet introduces new uniforms for flight attendants, ground staff

SpiceJet said it is giving its staff an image makeover with a “Redder, Hotter and Spicier” new uniform starting today.

“The uniforms retain the carrier’s signature red colour largely while incorporating some unique and flamboyant designs to infuse boldness and style,” it said.

The new dress code has been created by SHIFT, a design house based in Mumbai. Promoted by the celebrated designer Nimish Shah, Shift has been associated with several industry awards including Vogue India Fashion Fund & Grazia International Next Glam Award.

SHIFT’s clients include Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kalki Kochelin, and Freida Pinto among others.

“Inspired by the airline’s image of Red.Hot.Spicy, the new range of uniforms has been introduced to enhance the glamour and style quotient while keeping the youthfulness and the elegance intact.”

The dress is a combination of red and black, and largely along expected lines for an airline, despite what the company claims.

However, there will be different patterns for different seasons and climates.

“The new range includes a unique design for each department specifically stylized to suit the different seasons and time periods like summers, winters etc.
06/02/17 S Nambrath/RTN.Asia

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All Set For Smooth Sailing

There are some dates that become milestones in a company’s history. In the case of SpiceJet, there are two dates: December 16, 2014 and January 13, 2017. Between these two dates, the airline went from rock bottom to becoming India’s second largest low-cost carrier. From a near shut down on 17 December, 2014 to the beginning of a new growth story on 13 January, 2017, when SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh announced one of the biggest aircraft deals with Boeing, the world’s leading aircraft manufacturer. The Gurgaon-based carrier, which has nearly 13 per cent market share in the domestic air-travel industry, signed a deal to acquire 205 planes from Boeing, worth $22 billion. It was an emotional day for Singh, who took up the command and control of SpiceJet for a second time 24 months ago when virtually all its flights were grounded — due to large debts and lack of cash — and its erstwhile owners, Kal Airways promoted by the Marans, had decided to shut down operations on 17 December, 2014. “This order is the biggest in SpiceJet’s history. It ends the era of turnaround and marks the beginning of a growth story for the next decade,” he told the whole world as he announced the deal with Boeing. Singh says he is weighing various options for financing the new purchase, including sale and leaseback. However, he rules out raising equity or issuing more debt to pay for the planes.

The new aircraft will increase the range of SpiceJet’s flights by up to one hour. “This will open up more destinations within India and abroad,” says Singh. SpiceJet will take delivery of the first of its new jets in the third quarter of 2018, confirms Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president of Asia Pacific & India Sales at Boeing.

It is incredible how Singh, the original founder of the airline, returned and rescued the airline from shutting down despite its recent downfall. In June 2010, Kalanithi Maran of Sun TV acquired SpiceJet from Singh, who had co-founded the airline in 2005. But very soon, Maran discovered that the challenges of running an airline were much greater and trickier than other businesses. On 15 January, 2015, the company presented the ‘scheme of reconstruction and revival’ before the Ministry of Civil Aviation which proposed takeover of ownership, management and control by Singh from the previous promoters. This was approved by the Ministry on 22 January, 2015 and was subsequently approved by the Competition Commission of India. Consequently, the entire shareholding of previous promoters constituting 58.46 per cent of the equity share capital of the company was transferred to Singh on 23 February, 2015.
02/02/17 Ashish Sinha/Business World

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DGCA calls pilots, 2 DIAL electricians for questioning in the Indigo-SpiceJet flight face off at IGI

On Friday, Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) called Indigo airlines off-duty pilot and two DIAL electricians for questioning. Earlier, an Indigo flight had overshot in front of SpiceJet. A mishap was turned away at the Indira Gandhi International airport in the national capital after an Indigo flight and Spicejet flight had come face to face.
The incident took place on December 27, 206. The IndiGo flight had just arrived from Lucknow with 160 passengers and Spicejet flight with 187 on board was about to take off for Hyderabad when the two aircraft came close.
SpiceJet flight SG 123 operating Delhi-Hyderabad was following instructions of Air Traffic Control (ATC). While taxiing (going to runway for take off), the SpiceJet pilots observed another aircraft on the same taxiway in the opposite direction and immediately the SpiceJet pilots stopped the aircraft and informed ATC.
03/02/17 Shubhang Chauhan/India

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Two planes in same taxiway in IGI, disaster averted

A ground collision was averted at IGI airport on Wednesday morning when a Visakhapatnam-bound IndiGo flight, taxiing in low visibility, mistakenly entered a taxiway where a Jet Airways flight was already stationed before it was halted by an air traffic controller.
While the IndiGo aircraft was towed back, the whole operation took more than an hour by when a number of flights had to be diverted and over 25 delayed. ATC also held back 10 flights at the holding point till the main runway was made operational again.

The two pilots of the IndiGo aircraft were promptly derostered—taken off duty—and would not be given any flying assignment until DGCA and the airline inquire into the incident, an IndiGo spokesperson said.

The incident took place around 5.45am on the main runway when IndiGo's flight 6E-719 sought permission to take off, moving from Taxiway C for runway 28. However, due to low visibility, the flight missed the main runway and ended up on Taxiway W where a Jet Airways aircraft was stationed, the spokesperson said.

The main runway was closed for operation due to this runway incursion and flights resumed there only at 6.55am.
02/02/2017 The Times Of India

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Clean Sweep for SpiceJet at Asia One Awards, Singapore

It was a clean sweep for India’s favourite airline –SpiceJet at the Asia One Awards, Singapore – as it walked away with top recognition in three prime categories. The airline which has been trending all through 2016 with multiple awards and accolades was adorned ‘Asia’s Greatest Brands – 2016’ by the Asia One Board. The selection process was supervised by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Ajay Singh, who has scripted the most remarkable turnaround story of recent times, was honored with the title of the ‘Global Asian of the year’ while Chief Financial Officer Mr. Kiran Koteshwar won the award for ‘Asia’s Greatest CFO 2016’.
The year 2016 witnessed SpiceJet standing invincibly tall on the operational charts by recording the highest passenger load factor of over 90%, every month, for 21 months in a row, since April 2015 – a feat un-paralleled in India’s aviation history and has also been registering industry leading performance on important metrics such as ‘On Time Performance’ and ‘Flight Cancellations’. The company has been churning profits for seven consecutive quarters.
01/02/17 Udaipur Kiran

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‘Makes sense for IndiGo to shift to T2’

SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said on Monday that it would make “some sense” for low-cost airline IndiGo to shift its domestic operations to Terminal-2 (T2) of the Delhi airport.

“There are news report that IndiGo wants to shift [to T2]. They have the size and scale to be able to do it. If they operate large number of flights, it makes some sense for them. For us, it doesn’t fit. We have just recovered from a pretty bad situation and to undergo this shift would make it difficult for us,” Mr. Singh said at the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Budget AajTak event here.

The GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) recently asked low-cost airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir to shift their flight operations, serving Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, from Terminal-1D to T2.

DIAL wants the airlines to split their operations beginning February 15 so that expansion work of Terminal-1D can begin.

Mr. Singh, said that the airline is ready to share the burden of shifting to another terminal with all the other airlines, but will not go it alone.
01/02/17 The Hindu

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SpiceJet announces 'Great Budget Sale' offering all inclusive one-way fares starting at Rs 888

Budget carrier SpiceJet announced four-day 'Great Budget Sale' on Wednesday offering one-way all inclusive fares starting at  Rs 888 for travel to select domestic routes in India.

The four-day sale will have booking period starting from February 1 and will remain open till midnight of February 4 this year.

The airline company has announced the new sale offer for travel period between February 19 to April 12 this year.

The seats available under the offer will be limited and will be on First-Come-First-Served basis.
01/02/17 Tejal Yerunkar/Z Business

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Air passenger traffic in India to grow 21-23% in 2016-17: CRISIL

Crisil Research estimates domestic passenger traffic in India to grow 21-23 percent on-year in 2016-17, primarily on account of lower air fares following decline in fuel prices and high competition. In 2017-18, growth in domestic passenger traffic is expected to moderate to 15-17 percent on-year, on account of relatively flat fares – projected to rise 0-2 percent. Economic growth, low fares and better connectivity to tier-II and -III cities would be the key growth drivers. During the year, domestic passenger load factor (PLF), though, is expected to decline 100–200 bps to 81-82 percent because of fleet expansion.
International passenger traffic is estimated to grow 9-10 percent on-year in 2016-17 due to increase in trade, tourism and the Indian expatriate population. During the year, fares, though, are estimated to decline 1-2 percent on account on high competition on short haul routes. In 2017-18, international passenger traffic is projected to rise a further 10-11 percent on-year as the government focusses on widening the air services agreement. Among international routes, UAE routes will dominate.
31/01/17 Money Control

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SpiceJet offers tickets at Rs 888 under four-day sale

SpiceJet has unveiled a new sale, with ticket prices starting at Rs 888.

The 4 day “Great Budget Sale’ will be open till midnight, 4th February, 2017 for travel from 19th February 2017 to 12th April 2017.

The Rs 888 all inclusive fare is valid on routes like Chennai – Hyderabad, Chennai – Pune, Pune – Bengaluru, Coimbatore – Chennai, Agartala – Guwahati, Jammu – Srinagar, Srinagar – Jammu, Chandigarh – Srinagar and Srinagar – Chandigarh.

Tickets for this sale can be booked on the company’s website on online travel portals, SpiceJet mobile app and through travel agents. Tickets under this offer are non-refundable, but statutory levies will be refunded. The routes can be changed after paying a fee and fare difference.
01/02/17 T Thomas/RTN.Asia

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