GURGAON- The Indian Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) SpiceJet (SG) has added new and more flights to its winter 2023 schedule. The airline will make these flight changes from October 29 of this year.
The airline has been in the news for its financial troubles with lessors and creditors. But, its chairman Ajay Singh is trying whatever he can to keep the airline afloat and grab back the lost market to its fierce rivals IndiGo (6E), Air India (AI) Group, and Akasa Air (QP).
SpiceJet New Winter Flights
SpiceJet is set to launch the following services at the beginning of the Winter Schedule on October 29:
- Daily Q400 flights from Kolkata to Varanasi
- Daily Q400 flights from Kolkata to Vizag
- The Daily Boeing 737 flights from Chennai to Ahmedabad
- Daily Boeing 737 flights from Chennai to Pune
- Daily Boeing 737 flights from Bengaluru to Pune
- 13X weekly Q400 flights from Bengaluru to Mangaluru
- 5X weekly Q400 flights from Bengaluru to Goa Dabolim
The 18-year-old carrier temporarily suspended the Puducherry-Bengaluru-Hyderabad route amid an aircraft shortage. It will be interesting to see how things will work out for the airline.
The airline also leased Boeing 737 MAX from Corendon Airlines; however, due to payment issues with lessors, it had to return them.
According to Planespotters.net, SpiceJet has a fleet of 57 aircraft including Boeing 737, De Havilland Canada DHC Q400, and Airbus A340.
But out of these 57, 26 are grounded and parked, while 31 are operational. So, the airline has almost 40% of aircraft on the ground and has been continuously losing its market share to its rivals.
Leasing More 737 Planes
In Late June 2023, SpiceJet (SG) announced its plan to add ten Boeing 737 aircraft to its fleet in response to the growing passenger demand.
The airline has already finalized a lease agreement for these aircraft. Further, they are scheduled to join the fleet in September 2023. Among the ten aircraft, five will be Boeing 737 MAX jets.
SpiceJet is actively engaged in the process of restoring and bringing back its grounded aircraft to operational service. Further, with the expectation that they will soon be back in service.
“There has been a significant surge in passenger demand. We anticipate this increased demand to persist throughout the latter part of the year. As a result, SpiceJet has been strategically planning to expand its capacity to meet the growing requirements of the Indian aviation market,” stated Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet.
“We have plans to introduce ten Boeing 737s aircraft between September and October 2023. The timing of this aircraft induction aligns with the peak travel season in India. Further enabling us to launch new routes and strengthen our presence on existing ones,” added Singh.
SpiceJet currently operates approximately 250 flights per day, serving 48 destinations within India as well as international destinations.
The time will tell whether the trouble for Spicejet is going to ease or not. Let us know your thoughts on our social media pages.
Photos By Harsh Tekriwal (@avgeekwithlens) • Instagram photos and videos
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