Airbus Updates No.2863

 

SpiceJet Plans Direct Airbus A330neo Flights To London

SpiceJet is planning to start direct flights to London from New Delhi and Mumbai this winter. The airline will use a fleet of Airbus A330neos to make the long-haul flight to Heathrow. SpiceJet secured slots at Heathrow earlier this year and plans to start flights on December 4th.

Heathrow flights starting soon

SpiceJet made the news in July when it secured permission to start long-haul flights to the UK and US under travel bubble agreements. The airline picked up some Heathrow slots soon after, and is now planning to start direct flights from India as part of its effort to become a major long-haul airline.

While the carrier did operate a handful of repatriation flights using wet lease provider Hi Fly’s A330neo, it never established regular flights to any destinations. However, today the carrier announced that it will start London flights from December 4th from both Delhi and Mumbai.

The Delhi-London route will operate twice a week, while Mumbai-London will see one daily flight, according to the Times of India. SpiceJet has highlighted the convenient flight timings for the route, which will see flights arrive in London in the evening and return to India early in the morning, hoping to attract business and leisure travelers alike.

Flights will operate from Delhi to London on Friday and Sunday, departing at 13:00 and arriving at 17:30. The return leg from London to Delhi will fly on Monday and Friday, leaving at 19:30 and reaching Delhi at 07:45 the next day.

The Mumbai-London leg will operate on Monday, leaving at 12:45 and arriving at 17:30. The return leg will operate on Sunday, departing Heathrow at 19:45, arriving in Mumbai at 07:45 the next morning. All times are in local time.

Low-cost carrier with high fares

While SpiceJet has marketed itself as ‘India’s first low-cost carrier to start flights to London Heathrow,’ it’s fares are similar to full-service competitors. Under the promotional fares, a round-trip between Delhi or Mumbai to London will cost ₹53,555 ($732), while one-way fares are roughly half, according to the Times of India.

These fares are comparable to those on British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Air India. The listed carriers are all full-service airlines who offer daily flights and have a strong presence in the Indian market.

As a comparison, a round-trip from Delhi to London in December (Dec 5th to 11th) would cost ₹52,653 on Virgin Atlantic and Air India, which is actually cheaper than SpiceJet’s announced fare. Similar (and even lower) fares can be found on other dates and with other connecting airlines.

These high fares will more than likely pose a detriment to SpiceJet’s plans for the upcoming route. Without low costs, it’s unclear what SpiceJet’s strategy is on the highly competitive London route unless it adopts full-service elements.

London is a key market

London will see two new Indian carriers start flights this year, with Vistara already starting flights in August. SpiceJet will be the second carrier trying to capitalize on pent-up demand and fill the vacuum left by Jet Airways on the route. The UK is India’s most popular long-haul destination which explains the focus on this market.

While both carriers vary in their business model, they will inevitable compete for a piece of the market pie along with established players such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and Air India. It is to be seen if either carrier can carve out a place for itself, but SpiceJet could struggle to break through with such high fares.

credit : simpleflying.com

Airbus Updates No.2790

SpiceJet To Use An Airbus A340 For Cargo Flights

SpiceJet is preparing to take delivery of its first widebody jet. An all-narrowbody operator, this is an exciting occasion for the airline and will open its network to new and previously unexplored markets. But don’t hold out for a seat onboard the SpiceJet A340, because this aircraft is going to be for cargo operations only.

A widebody freighter for SpiceJet

Indian airline SpiceJet has revealed today that it is expecting delivery of an A340 freighter to add to its cargo fleet. This, the first widebody to be inducted into the cargo operations, will allow SpiceJet to carry more cargo further than ever before.

The A340 has a capacity of 35-tons and will allow SpiceJet to enter into new markets, including Africa, Europe and the CIS. It will join SpiceJet’s fleet of eight dedicated freighters, consisting of three Bombardier Q-400s and five Boeing 737s.

Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet Ajay Singh commented on the addition of the A340 in a statement, saying,

“The induction of our first wide-body cargo aircraft will be a huge game changer in our remarkable journey that has seen SpiceJet emerge as the country’s largest cargo operator. We are confident that our long-haul cargo flights would further help boost Indian businesses, farmers, pharma companies providing them seamless access to newer markets.”

SpiceJet’s cargo operations are currently limited to India and nearby Asian and Middle Eastern destinations. Its network stretches as far east as Hong Kong and the Philippines, while to the west, it arrives in Ukraine. It has been using the airport at Ras Al-Khaimah as a westerly hub for its operations, and with the A340 in its fleet, it will be able to start making inroads into the busy markets of Europe and Africa.

Airbus Updates No.2746

IndiGo & SpiceJet Eye Wet Leasing A330s To Launch London Flights

Low-cost leaders IndiGo and SpiceJet are looking to wet lease widebody aircraft to fly to Europe. According to sources at the Economic Times, both carriers are looking to lease A330s to fly to London. SpiceJet might be the first to start such flights, with reports saying it has already leased one Oman Air A330 along with the airline’s Heathrow slot. So, why have the two low-cost airlines decided to go long-haul at this time?

SpiceJet and IndiGo are looking to lead India’s untapped long-haul, low-cost market. Photo: Getty Images

Why now?

Both IndiGo and SpiceJet have toyed with the idea of flying to Europe before, using either widebody aircraft or stopovers. However, neither airline has decided to bite the bullet and break from its low-cost roots. It seems the current pandemic has changed their minds, with both airlines now aggressively considering long-haul plans.

There are a few reasons as to why both airlines are pursuing European flight now, especially those to London. Vande Bharat, India’s repatriation mission, has opened up new potential routes for airlines. However, one destination that continues to be underserved, both before and during the pandemic, is London.

Since the beginning of Vande Bharat flights in May, Air India has struggled to keep up with the demand from London, adding new flights to every phase of the operation. Since May, the carrier has flown over 70 flights to London, with more scheduled.

It’s become clear that London, and other European destinations, have plenty of demand from India. The long-haul, international market is still recovering from the collapse of Jet Airways a year ago, which has left room for direct flights from India. With British Airways and Virgin Atlantic unable to fly to India, and the lucrative fall season coming up, do IndiGo and SpiceJet have a chance to gain market share?

Airbus Updates No.2513

All-Boeing operator SpiceJet adds two Airbus A320 aircraft

Gurugram, India - Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet added two Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet. The planes are wet-leased from Bulgarian leisure operator BH Air.

With the latest induction, the SpiceJet fleet now stands at 121 aircraft. These are the first Airbus planes to join the all-Boeing airline's fleet.

Despite facing an unprecedented crisis following the grounding of the 737 MAX in March last year, SpiceJet grew almost 60% in 2019. The Indian operator has taken delivery of more than 40 planes since April 2019.

Like all other 737 MAX operators around the world, SpiceJet has been suffering from revenue losses due to the prolonged worldwide grounding of the type. SpiceJet currently has 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets in its fleet. There are 192 737 MAX 8s in the airline's order book waiting to be delivered.

SpiceJet is looking at options beyond 737 MAX 8 to continue to grow its route network.

Besides the newly added two Airbus A320s, the Indian budget carrier currently operates a fleet of 82 Boeing 737s and Bombardier Q400s. The airline has a fleet of 82 Boeing 737 jets and 32 Bombardier Q-400s.

Airbus Updates No.2280

India's SpiceJet mulls order for at least 100 Airbus jets

Illustration of SpiceJet Boeing 737-10 © Boeing

02.10.2019 - 01:59 UTC

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int'l) is considering placing a “sizeable” order for A321neo(LR) and A321neo(XLR) aircraft, with chairman Ajay Singh telling Bloomberg that “any aircraft order SpiceJet places would at least be 100 aircraft”. Airbus has “made us a commercial offer and we are evaluating it”, he said.

Inducting Airbus aircraft into the fleet for the first time is being considered in part due to the grounding of the B737-8, Singh explained. SpiceJet has so far taken delivery of thirteen of the jets with another 192 on order.

Switching to Airbus will not be “the easiest thing in the world to do, of course – our entire infrastructure is geared for a Boeing fleet – but if this takes too long we may not have too much of a choice,” he said.

Such an Airbus order could exceed USD10 billion based on 2018 prices, Bloomberg speculated.

Besides the MAX aircraft, the LCC has a fleet of fifty-two B737-800s, seven B737-700s, three B737-700(BDSF)s, one B737-900, four B737-900(ER)s, and thirty-two Dash 8-400s.

Boeing has told SpiceJet that it expects US regulators to re-certify the B737 MAX 8 in early November, Singh said, adding that he hoped his airline could start flying it again in January.

“We look forward to the MAX aircraft coming back because that’s where the biggest pain point for SpiceJet is currently,” he admitted.

As with other airlines, SpiceJet is currently in talks with Boeing over compensation for costs incurred through the ongoing grounding, Singh confirmed.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet has signed a lease for four MAX jets that were previously operated by Jet Airways, Singh told the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 30, according to the Economic Times. He added that 10 to 12 more MAX were ready to be delivered to SpiceJet in the US. In its 2018-19 annual report, SpiceJet said it was optimistic about the imminent return of the aircraft type to service.

In related news, SpiceJet plans to sell shares in its cargo division SpiceXpress in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) within 12 months, Bloomberg reported in a separate article.

“We have a country of 1.3 billion people, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and we have very few air logistics players,” Singh said. “We think that’s a good space for us.”

Airbus Updates No.1345

India's Spicejet to lease maiden Airbus metal

© BoeingSpicejet Boeing 737-800

10 hours ago

Spicejet (SG, Delhi Int'l) will welcome its first Airbus Industrie (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) aircraft into its fleet that until now, has consisted exclusively of Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare) and Bombardier(BBA, Montréal Trudeau) aircraft. 

According to India's Business Today, the switch to European aircraft comes after some of Spicejet'sB737-800 lessors decided to withdraw their aircraft completely following the LCC's bout of financial difficulties earlier in the year.

"SpiceJet plans to replace two of its Boeing 737s with Airbus A320 planes. These aircraft are likely to be inducted in the fleet in the coming months," a source said adding they will be deployed on wet-lease contracts.

Currently, the ch-aviation aircraft database shows Spicejet operates eighteen B737-800s, one B737-900(ER), and fourteen Dash 8-400.

Late last month, management announced plans to raise up to INR3 billion (USD47.2 million) in additional capital as part of plans to grow the LCC's fleet to 45-50 aircraft by March 2016.