SpiceJet

SpiceJet
IATA ICAO Callsign
SG SEJ SPICEJET
Founded 2004 (as Royal Airways)
Commenced operations 23 May 2005 (2005-05-23)
Hubs
Fleet size 61
Destinations 51[1]
Company slogan Red. Hot. Spicy.
Traded as BSE: 500285
NSE: MODILUFT
Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana, India[2]
Key people Ajay Singh (MD)
Kiran Koteshwar (CFO)
Debojo Maharshi (CMO)
Revenue Increase 7,933 crore (US$1.1 billion) (FY 2018)[3]
Net income Increase 557 crore (US$78 million) (FY 2018)[3]
Total assets Increase 4,109 crore (US$570 million) (FY 2018)[3]
Employees 6,902 (2017)
Website spiceJet.com

SpiceJet is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, India. It is the fourth largest airline in the country by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 13.3% as of October 2017.[4] The airline operates 312 daily flights to 55 destinations, including 47 Indian and 7 international destinations from its hubs at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Established as air taxi provider ModiLuft in 1994, the company was acquired by Indian entrepreneur Ajay Singh in 2004 and re-christened as SpiceJet. The airline operated its first flight in May 2005. Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired a controlling stake in SpiceJet in June 2010 through Sun Group which was sold back to Ajay Singh in January 2015. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737 and Bombardier Dash aircraft.

History

1984–1996: ModiLuft era

The origins of SpiceJet can be tracked back to March 1984 when the company was established by Indian industrialist S. K. Modi to provide private air taxi services.[5] On 17 February 1993, the company was named as MG Express and entered into technical partnership with the German flag carrier Lufthansa. The airline provided passenger and cargo services under the name of Modiluft before ceasing operations in 1996.[5]

2005–2013: Inception and expansion

In 2004, the company was acquired by Ajay Singh and the airline planned to restart operations as SpiceJet following the low-cost model.[5] SpiceJet leased two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2005 and planned to order 10 new aircraft for expansion.[6] SpiceJet opened bookings on 18 May 2005 and the first flight was operated between Delhi and Mumbai on 24 May 2005.[7] By July 2008, it was India's third-largest low-cost carrier in terms of market share after Air Deccan and IndiGo.[8] Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired 37.7% stake in SpiceJet in June 2010 through Sun Group.[9][10] The airline ordered 30 Boeing 737-8 aircraft worth US$2.7 billion July 2010 and a further 15 Bombardier Q4 Dash short-haul aircraft worth US$446 million in December 2010.[11]

In 2012, SpiceJet suffered a loss of over 390 million (US$5.4 million) owing to increase in global crude prices.[12] On 9 January 2012, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, reported that several airlines in India, including SpiceJet, have not maintained crucial data for the flight operations quality assurance.[13] The Bombay Stock Exchange announced that ever since June 2011, SpiceJet had been suffering losses.[14] In 2012, Kalanidhi Maran increased his stake in the airline by investing 1 billion (US$14 million) in the airline.[15] The airline returned to profits at the end of the same year.[16] In 2013, SpiceJet entered into an inter airline pact with Tigerair on 16 December 2013 which was later scrapped in January 2015.[17]

2014–present: Downturn and recovery

In January 2015, the Sun group sold its entire shareholding and transferred control to Ajay Singh.[18]

In late September 2017, the airline announced that it had placed a firm order for 25 Q400 turboprop aircraft.[19]

Corporate affairs

SpiceJet is headquartered in Gurgaon, India.[2] Ajay Singh serves as the Managing Director of the airline since January 2015.[20] The airline's logo consists of 15 dots arranged in three rows of five each in the order of their reducing sizes on a red background. In June 2015, the airline unveiled its current logo with a new tagline Red. Hot. Spicy.[21] SpiceJet names all its aircraft with the name of an Indian spice.[22]

SpiceJet is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange

Destinations

As of October 2018, SpiceJet operates 306 flights daily to 35 Indian and 6 international destinations.[23] It operates hubs at Delhi and Hyderabad, which is the primary base for its fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft.[24][25] After completing five years of flying, SpiceJet was allowed to commence international flights by Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 7 September 2010. SpiceJet launched flights from Delhi to Kathmandu and Chennai to Colombo and the first international flight took off on 7 October 2010 from Delhi.[26]

Fleet

As of June 2018, the airline operates the following aircraft:[27]

SpiceJet Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-700 3 149
Boeing 737-800 28 189
Boeing 737-900ER 4 212
Boeing 737 MAX 8 1[28] 154[29] 189 Deliveries starting August 2018[30]
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 23[31] 78
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NG 1[32] 24[32] 90[32] Launch customer of high-density 90-passenger model[32]
Cargo fleet
Boeing 737-800BCF/BDSF 1[33] 20 Cargo Deliveries through 2022
Launch customer in India for the 737-800 freighter[34]
Total 61 199

New orders

SpiceJet placed its first firm order for 20 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s in March 2005, with deliveries scheduled up to 2010.[6] In November 2010, the airline ordered 30 Boeing 737-800s.[35] On 9 December 2010, Bombardier Aerospace announced that SpiceJet had placed a firm order for fifteen Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners with options for another fifteen. SpiceJet used its fleet of Q400s for short-haul operations.[36]

In March 2014, the airline signed a US$4.4 billion deal with Boeing for the procurement of 42 737 MAX 8 aircraft.[37] In 2015, SpiceJet was in talks with both Boeing and Airbus for a possible order of more than 100 single aisle aircraft, either Airbus A320neo or the Boeing 737 MAX with the same being confirmed by Managing Director, Ajay Singh, in a conference in Dubai.[38]

In January 2017, the airline placed a firm order for 100 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and revealed itself as the airline behind the 13 MAX 8 aircraft previously attributed to an unidentified customer, taking its total order to 155 MAX 8 aircraft with purchase rights for 50 additional MAX 8 and wide-body aircraft. The budget carrier plans to grow its operational fleet to 200 airplanes by the end of the decade and expand regionally with the new 737 MAX family of airplanes. [39]

In June 2017, the airline signed a letter of intent with Bombardier at the 2017 Paris Air Show, to purchase up to 50 Q400 aircraft, catering to growth in passenger traffic arising from its participation in the Indian government's UDAN regional connectivity scheme.[40]

Services

In-flight meal of Spicejet.

SpiceJet has moved away from the typical low-cost carrier service model of economy class-only seating.[41] The airline offers premium services under the name SpiceMax, whereby passengers can obtain additional benefits including pre-assigned seats with extra legroom; complimentary meals on board; priority check-in and boarding; and priority baggage handling; at a higher fare.[42] Otherwise SpiceJet does not provide complimentary meals in any of its flights for it does have a buy-on board in-flight meal programmebut unlike other low cost airlines , it provides full meals [41] SpiceJet does not operate any frequent-flyer programme and does not provide any in-flight entertainment options.[41]

Partnerships

SpiceJet has partnered with Tripfactory for selling holiday packages on its platform.[43]

References

  1. "Now, SpiceJet offers Rs 499 fare on domestic network". Times of India. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 "SpiceJet Contact Information, SpiceJet Airlines". Spicejet. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "SpiceJet FY 18 Investor Presentation: Results" (PDF). Spicejet. p. 7,9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  4. http://dgca.nic.in/reports/Traffic_reports/Traffic_Rep102017.pdf%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  5. 1 2 3 "Company History – SpiceJet". moneycontrol.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  6. 1 2 "India's Spicejet takes 10 Boeings". BBC news. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. "Spic(e)y flight: Delhi-Mumbai for Rs 1,599". Times of India. 10 August 2005. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  8. Shukla, Tarun (25 June 2008). "SpiceJet, Modi call truce; to sell 11.5 mn shares". Live Mint. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  9. "Kalanithi Maran to buy 37% stake in SpiceJet". The Economic Times. 11 June 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  10. "Kalanidhi Maran buys 37.7 p.c. stake in SpiceJet". The Hindu. 13 June 2010. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  11. "SpiceJet order adds to Bombardier's India footprint". =Reuters. Toronto, Canada. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  12. Sahu, Ram Prasad (8 February 2012). "Fund infusion critical for SpiceJet". Business Standard. Mumbai, India. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  13. "IndiGo, SpiceJet airlines violate mandatory safety norms: DGCA". India Today. 10 January 2012. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  14. "Standalone Result – 31-Dec-11". Bombay Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  15. "Marans to pump Rs 100 cr into SpiceJet, up stake to 48.6 pc". CNN-IBN. 3 March 2012. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  16. "SpiceJet returns to profit". The Hindu. 27 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  17. Bhattacharya, Roudra (30 January 2015). "Tigerair scraps three-year inter-line pact with SpiceJet". Business Standard. New Delhi, India. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  18. Mishra, Laltendu (15 January 2015). "SpiceJet changes hand". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  19. "Bombardier inks $1.7 bn deal with SpiceJet for 50 jets". 29 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018 via The Economic Times.
  20. Sinha, Saurabh (17 April 2015). "I am back at SpiceJet for long run: Ajay Singh". Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  21. "SpiceJet Unveils New Brand Look and Slogan and Launches New Mobile App for Android and iOS as Part of its Ongoing 10th Anniversary Celebrations". SpiceJet (Press release). 6 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  22. "SpiceJet's newest Boeing 737BG aircraft named "Red Chilli"". Times of India. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  23. "Spicejet to add 3 new flights, 6 additional frequencies in summer". The Economic Times. 23 March 2016. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  24. "Bombardier to land Shamshabad airport in June". The Hindu. Hyderabad, India. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  25. "Profile on SpiceJet". CAPA Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  26. "SpiceJet begins flight service to Delhi, Mumbai". The Hindu. Madurai, India. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  27. "Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2017): 16. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  28. "SpiceJet's New Boeing 737 Max".
  29. "Boeing: SpiceJet Announces Deal for up to 205 Airplanes". www.boeing.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  30. "SpiceJet places firm order for 100 737 Max 8s". Flight Global. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  31. "SpiceJet Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Nensel, Mark (24 September 2018). "India's SpiceJet takes Bombardier's first 90-seat Q400". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018.
  33. "SpiceJet's first Cargo plane". 10 September 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  34. "India's SpiceJet to add B737 freighters from 3Q18". CH-Aviation. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  35. "Boeing, SpiceJet Finalize Order for 30 Next-Generation 737-800s". Boeing (Press release). 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  36. "Bombardier Sells 15 Q400 NextGen Aircraft to India's SpiceJet". Bombardier (Press release). 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  37. "Boeing, SpiceJet ink $4.4 Bn deal for 737-8 Max aircraft at India Aviation 2014". Bihar Prabha. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  38. "SpiceJet in talks with aircraft makers to purchase planes". The Economic Times. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  39. "Boeing 737: Orders and Deliveries (updated monthly)". BUSINESS NEWS. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  40. "Bombardier Signs a Letter of Intent with SpiceJet for up to 50 Q400 Aircraft - Bombardier". www.bombardier.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017.
  41. 1 2 3 "General Travel FAQ's". SpiceJet. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  42. "Enjoy the SpiceMax experience with SpiceJet". SpiceJet. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  43. Chowdhury, Anirban (29 May 2014). "SpiceJet ties up with tripfactory for selling holiday packages". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.

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