spicejet q400
SpiceJet, a Delhi-based low-cost airline, announced Tuesday that it will induct ten more aircraft into its fleet by the end of November this year.
“Seven of these aircraft will be acquired on lease, while three previously grounded SpiceJet planes are being reintroduced into service,” the airline said. Sources in the airline said that the seven aircraft to be inducted on lease will be Boeing 737s, while the grounded aircraft returning to the fleet will be a mix of 737 and Q-400s.
SpiceJet said it has already signed agreements for the leased aircraft, with the full induction of all seven planes expected by November 15. “Two of these leased aircraft have already arrived in India and are scheduled for immediate induction. SpiceJet will also operationalise its grounded planes in phases, with the first three set to re-enter service before the end of November,” the airline added.
The induction of these aircraft comes days after the airline raised Rs 30 billion from Qualified Institutional Placement, which saw the likes of Goldman Sachs (Singapore), Morgan Stanley Asia, Tata Mutual Fund, and Discovery Global Opportunity Ltd investing in the airline).
The airline has been having trouble with its fleet, with over 50 percent grounded, as it made public in its Preliminary Placement Document.
The airline claimed that in addition to the QIP funds, it is set to receive an additional Rs 7.36 billion from a previous funding round. The money raised from the QIP was also used to settle employees’ statutory dues and other outstanding debts.
The announcement of the induction of more aircraft comes on the day it was reported that the airline had told the Indian aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, that it should be able to fly its entire grounded fleet in the next two years.
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