Budget carrier SpiceJet's battle to match spiralling costs of operations by raising airfares in the domestic market has made the airline seek growth opportunities through international expansion, where it expects higher returns than the local market.
The focus of the airline over the next few months is to grow its international operations to 20% (from the 11% it witnessed this quarter) by adding more overseas destinations to its network, which would use most of the eight new B-737 aircraft to be delivered to the airline this fiscal.
"Airfares in the domestic market are high enough and won't go higher than this. They are not meeting cost of operations and I would love to charge more. But it is the government which makes consumers pay more as it sees aviation as luxury and not essential infrastructure and doesn't improve the cost environment," SpiceJet CEO Neil Mills told ET.
26/05/13 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
The focus of the airline over the next few months is to grow its international operations to 20% (from the 11% it witnessed this quarter) by adding more overseas destinations to its network, which would use most of the eight new B-737 aircraft to be delivered to the airline this fiscal.
"Airfares in the domestic market are high enough and won't go higher than this. They are not meeting cost of operations and I would love to charge more. But it is the government which makes consumers pay more as it sees aviation as luxury and not essential infrastructure and doesn't improve the cost environment," SpiceJet CEO Neil Mills told ET.
26/05/13 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times
