SpiceJet

SpiceJet
IATA ICAO Callsign
SG SEJ SPICEJET
Founded 2005
Commenced operations 18 May 2005 (2005-05-18)
Hubs
Secondary hubs
Focus cities
Fleet size 34
Destinations 41[2]
Company slogan Red. Hot. Spicy.
Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana, India[3]
Key people

Ajay Singh (MD)
Kiran Koteshwar (CFO

Revenue Increase US$ 795.25 million (2015)
Net income Decrease US$ 101.52 million (2015)
Total assets Decrease US$ 474.45 million (2015)
Employees 4,185 (2015)
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 passengers carried, with a market share of 13.1% as of February 2016. The airline operates 293 daily flights to 40 destinations, including 34 Indian and six international destinations from its primary hubs at Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

Established as air taxi provider ModiLuft in 1984, 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

Main article: ModiLuft

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.[4] 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.[4]

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.[4] SpiceJet leased two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2005 and planned to order 10 new aircraft for expansion.[5] SpiceJet opened bookings on 18 May 2005 and the first flight was operated between Delhi and Mumbai on 24 May 2005.[6] By July 2008, it was India's third-largest low-cost carrier in terms of market share after Air Deccan and IndiGo.[7] Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired 37.7% stake in SpiceJet in June 2010 through Sun Group.[8][9] 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.[10]

In 2012, SpiceJet suffered a loss of over ₹390 million (US$5.8 million) owing to increase in global crude prices.[11] 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.[12] The Bombay Stock Exchange announced that ever since June 2011, SpiceJet had been suffering losses.[13] In 2012, Kalanidhi Maran increased his stake in the airline by investing ₹1 billion (US$15 million) in the airline.[14] The airline returned to profits at the end of the same year.[15] In 2013, SpiceJet entered into an inter airline pact with Tigerair on 16 December 2013 which was later scrapped in January 2015.[16]

2014-present: Downturn and recovery

In July 2014, SpiceJet announced up to 50 percent discount in air fares due to competition.[17] In August 2014, SpiceJet became the second largest carrier in terms of passenger market share after IndiGo, beating full service carrier Jet Airways for the first time in its operational history.[18] In December 2014, financial losses and unpaid dues led to cancellation of many domestic flights.[19] Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a warning to the airline over non-payment of salaries and dues and the carrier was put on cash-and-carry mode by airport operators, meaning the airline can use the airport facilities only upon prior payment of money.[20] On 17 December 2014, all flights were grounded after oil companies refused to refuel its planes due to non-payment of dues with flights resuming the next day.[21] Flights resumed the next day.[22] In January 2015, the Sun group sold its entire shareholding and transferred control to Ajay Singh.[23]

In 2015, SpiceJet's operations experienced a significant turn around with 93 percent of available seats on flights being filled and only 0.13 percent of scheduled flights canceled each month. The airline became profitable in the first three consecutive quarters of the year 2015, in contrast to the previous five quarters when it suffered losses.[24] As of January 2016, it is the fourth largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried with a 13.1 percent market share.[25]

Corporate affairs and identity

SpiceJet is headquartered in Gurgaon, India.[3] Ajay Singh serves as the Managing Director of the airline since January 2015.[26]

Logo and livery

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.[27] SpiceJet names all its aircraft with a name of an Indian spice.[28]

Destinations

Main article: SpiceJet destinations

As of April 2016, SpiceJet operates 294 flights daily to 34 Indian and seven international destinations.[29] 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.[30] In April 2011, SpiceJet announced that Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad would serve as the primary base for its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft.[31]

Fleet

Current fleet

As of April 2016, the airline operates the following aircraft:[32]

SpiceJet fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers
(Economy)		 Notes
Boeing 737-800 16 — 186
Boeing 737-900ER 4 — 212
Boeing 737 MAX 8 — 42 — Deliveries starting 2017[33]
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 14 — 78
Total 34 42

SpiceJet leased two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2005 when it began operations and later inducted new Boeing 737 aircraft into its fleet.[5] In February 2012, SpiceJet announced that it would take the delivery of ten more aircraft during the year, of which seven would be the Bombardier Q400.[34]

New orders

SpiceJet placed its first firm order for 20 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s in March 2005, with deliveries scheduled up to 2010.[5] In November 2010, in the presence of US president Barack Obama, the airline ordered 30 Boeing 737-800s with winglets.[35] On 9 December 2010, Bombardier Aerospace announced that SpiceJet placed a firm order for 15 Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners and has also placed an option to buy another 15 of those. SpiceJet used its fleet of Q400s for short-haul operations.[36] In March 2014, Spicejet signed a US$4.4 billion deal with Boeing for the procurement of 42 737-8 MAX 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 737MAX with the same being confirmed by Managing Director, Ajay Singh in a conference in Dubai.[38][39]

Services

Being a low-cost carrier, SpiceJet offers only economy class seating accommodating 186 passengers per aircraft.[40] To keep fares low, SpiceJet does not provide complimentary meals in any of its flights, though it does have a buy-on board in-flight meal programme.[40] SpiceJet does not operate any frequent-flyer programme and do not provide any in-flight entertainment options.[40] The airline offers premium services under the name Spice Add-ons, where the passengers can avail additional benefits like a pre-assigned seat, priority baggage handling and priority check-in at a higher fare.[41]

References

  1. ↑ "Base for Q400 operations". SpiceJet (Press release). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Now, SpiceJet offers Rs 499 fare on domestic network". Times of India. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 "SpiceJet Contact Information, SpiceJet Airlines". Spicejet. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "Company History – SpiceJet". moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 "India's Spicejet takes 10 Boeings". BBC news. 21 February 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Spic(e)y flight: Delhi-Mumbai for Rs 1,599". Times of India. 10 August 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Shukla, Tarun (25 June 2008). "SpiceJet, Modi call truce; to sell 11.5 mn shares". Live Mint. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kalanithi Maran to buy 37% stake in SpiceJet". The Economic Times. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  9. ↑ "Kalanidhi Maran buys 37.7 p.c. stake in SpiceJet". The Hindu. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  10. ↑ "SpiceJet order adds to Bombardier's India footprint". =Reuters (Toronto, Canada). 9 December 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  11. ↑ Sahu, Ram Prasad (8 February 2012). "Fund infusion critical for SpiceJet". Business Standard (Mumbai, India). Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "IndiGo, SpiceJet airlines violate mandatory safety norms: DGCA". India Today. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Standalone Result – 31-Dec-11". Bombay Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  14. ↑ "Marans to pump Rs 100 cr into SpiceJet, up stake to 48.6 pc". CNN-IBN. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "SpiceJet returns to profit". The Hindu. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Bhattacharya, Roudra (30 January 2015). "Tigerair scraps three-year inter-line pact with SpiceJet". Business Standard (New Delhi, India). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Jet Airways, SpiceJet offers 50 percent discount". Patrika. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "SpiceJet edges past Jet Airways to be second largest passenger carrier for July". Business Standard. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  19. ↑ Kandavel, Sangeetha (9 December 2014). "SpiceJet cancels 1,800 flights". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  20. ↑ Mishra, Mihir (9 December 2014). "Airport operators put SpiceJet on cash-and-carry". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "SpiceJet: Indian airline planes 'grounded'". BBC News. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "SpiceJet: Indian airline resumes flights". BBC News. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Mishra, Laltendu (15 January 2015). "SpiceJet changes hand". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Ascending above the turbulence". The Economist. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "India's domestic passenger demand up 25 percent: IATA". Business Standard. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  26. ↑ Sinha, Saurabh (17 April 2015). "I am back at SpiceJet for long run: Ajay Singh". Times of India. TNN. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  27. ↑ "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. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "SpiceJet's newest Boeing 737BG aircraft named "Red Chilli"". Times of India. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  29. ↑ "Spicejet to add 3 new flights, 6 additional frequencies in summer". The Economic Times. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  30. ↑ "SpiceJet begins flight service to Delhi, Mumbai". The Hindu (Madurai, India). 28 September 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  31. ↑ "Bombardier to land Shamshabad airport in June". The Hindu (Hyderabad, India). 9 April 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  32. ↑ "SpiceJet Fleet". SpiceJet. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  33. ↑ "Air India contemplates Boeing 737 Max for no-frills subsidiary". Financial Express. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  34. ↑ "Auditors cast doubts on SpiceJet's ability to stay afloat". The Economic Times. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  35. ↑ "Boeing, SpiceJet Finalize Order for 30 Next-Generation 737-800s". Boeing (Press release). 8 November 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  36. ↑ "Bombardier Sells 15 Q400 NextGen Aircraft to India's SpiceJet". Bombardier (Press release). 9 December 2010. 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. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  38. ↑ "SpiceJet in talks with aircraft makers to purchase planes". The Economic Times. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  39. ↑ "SpiceJet to order over 150 planes in current financial year". The Economic Times. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  40. 1 2 3 "General Travel FAQ's". SpiceJet. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  41. ↑ "Enjoy the SpiceMax experience with SpiceJet". SpiceJet. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

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