India’s budget carrier SpiceJet is ready for significant fleet restructuring after a long period by preparing to add more 737 MAX aircraft to its fleet. It is now the only operator of the MAX in India and has more than 150 of the type on order from Boeing.
SpiceJet could take delivery of at least 7 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft by December 2022. A report by Bloomberg reveals that the carrier could add the aircraft in the three months through December. However, sources have told that the airline might not have enough money to make pre-delivery charges.
SpiceJet’s chairman Ajay Singh said
The carrier has 13 MAX aircraft in its fleet and has been wanting to add more for a while now. Last year, SpiceJet’s chairman Ajay Singh said that the airline intends to induct 50 Boeing 737 MAX planes by 2022-23 as it expects to phase out its older Boeing 737-800 NG. He had hoped that the company would receive its 14th MAX by December 10th last year.
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SpiceJet’s operations in India and abroad
The 737 aircraft carries the bulk of SpiceJet’s operations in India and abroad. The airline decided to continue with the family of jets and pinned its hope on the MAX for future growth. But the type’s grounding following the two fatal crashes and then COVID-19 paused those plans in the last few years.
It has been almost a year since Indian authorities cleared the MAX to fly in the country again, but SpiceJet has still not inducted any additional MAX to its fleet. Sources have said to Bloomberg that the connection between Boeing and the airline has been lukewarm lately.
But Boeing realizes that it needs SpiceJet to make any serious inroads into the Indian narrowbody market, which has been dominated by the A320 completely. Earlier this year, SpiceJet published a surprise profit, despite struggling in the previous months. But close inspection of its finances said that it was aided massively by its lodging of ‘other income’ for the value of $55.2 million – money attributed to the payment from Boeing for the MAX delays.
With Jet Airways, a former Boeing loyalist, reportedly interested in Airbus for future aircraft requirements, Boeing needs all the support it can from airlines such as SpiceJet and Akasa Air, which has also placed its bet on the company’s MAX plane.
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Saty updated with Aviationa2z.com
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