“We will induct 50 aircraft during 2022 and 2023 calendar years and 15 to 20 of them will be used to replace older aircraft in the fleet,” said SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh. He added that the airline will add four aircraft soon and the first new addition of the aircraft will start on December 10, 2021.
SpiceJet had ordered 205 aircraft (155 firms plus 50 options) and already has 13 aircraft in its fleet. “Two of these aircraft are already flying and the rest 11 will start flying in the next 15-20 days,” Singh added.
He also added that the airline would try to lease all these planes through GIFT City near Ahmedabad, which the government wants to grow as a leasing hub for the world. Singh also added that SpiceJet has settled all compensation issues with Boeing as well as its lessors.
Passenger demand sustainability a worry
SpiceJet is worried about the sustainability in demand of passengers in the domestic sector may not be sustainable, as cases in Europe have started to spike. “The passenger demand has been good and we hope it sustains,” Singh said.
He added that cases have been rising in Europe and Austria has announced a lockdown. “We hope that Europe is able to vaccinate more and more and able to control the surge as that may have an impact on demand.
He added that the situation in India is set to stay better (in terms of COVID infection numbers), as India has vaccinated a record number of people.
