Mumbai: Low-fare carrier SpiceJet is working with Bombardier to increase reliability of its Q400 turboprops and plans to return its old leased aircraft in order to improve efficiency.
"I have now really made it a mandate that aircraft have to be clean and you can see the difference," the airline's chief operating officer, Sanjiv Kapoor, told ET, adding he was "still not satisfied with aircraft cleanliness" when he had joined.
The measures, if properly implemented, will help SpiceJet reduce maintenance cost, which account for 12 per cent of overall expenses, increase aircraft utilisation and cut fuel cost.
SpiceJet's management has now brought in a new set of procedures for "deep cleaning" of aircraft once a week. The airline has often been criticised for falling behind peer Indi-Go in aircraft cleanliness.
Dirt in an aircraft, apart from denting brand appeal, makes aircraft heavier and raises fuel consumption. Loss-making SpiceJet has been aggressively churning out flash sales to fill its planes. As a result, it clocked an industry-best flight occupancy level of over 81 per cent in June.
09/08/14 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times
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"I have now really made it a mandate that aircraft have to be clean and you can see the difference," the airline's chief operating officer, Sanjiv Kapoor, told ET, adding he was "still not satisfied with aircraft cleanliness" when he had joined.
The measures, if properly implemented, will help SpiceJet reduce maintenance cost, which account for 12 per cent of overall expenses, increase aircraft utilisation and cut fuel cost.
SpiceJet's management has now brought in a new set of procedures for "deep cleaning" of aircraft once a week. The airline has often been criticised for falling behind peer Indi-Go in aircraft cleanliness.
Dirt in an aircraft, apart from denting brand appeal, makes aircraft heavier and raises fuel consumption. Loss-making SpiceJet has been aggressively churning out flash sales to fill its planes. As a result, it clocked an industry-best flight occupancy level of over 81 per cent in June.
09/08/14 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times
