SpiceJet to submit payment plan to Airports Authority of India at Delhi HQ over cash-n-carry notice

SpiceJet is said to make payments daily to the Airports Authority of India at Delhi headquarters for flights. SpiceJet is also said to submit the payment plans for the Airports Authority of India for past dues. The letter stated to SpiceJet went from the Airports Authority of India on 29 and stated the cash-n-carry across all the airports. As per the sources, an amount of around Rs 60 lakhs has to be paid as part of the new plan. SpiceJet officials have met the officials of the Airports Authority of India post the cash-n-carry notice. Is it also reported that SpiceJet has to submit a plan for paying for the past dues. There are dues for over Rs 175 crores.
31/07/20 TimesNowNews.com

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SpiceJet facing cash and carry hurdle

Mumbai: Due to non-payment of dues, low cost carrier SpiceJet was to be put on "cash and carry" by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) from Thursday. However, the decision has been deferred after the airline requested for time to work out the modalities for implementing the cash and carry regime.

AAI has got the requisite permission from its competent authority to put SpiceJet on cash and carry mode from 0.01 am on Thursday, said a letter sent by AAI general manager (finance) to SpiceJet chairman and AAI regional executive directors of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati airports on Wednesday.

SpiceJet in a statement said: "The AAI deferred its decision to put SpiceJet on cash and carry. We continue to have normal operations at all AAI-run airports as before without any impediments."

In a follow-up letter to various airport directors, AAI GM (finance) said that the airline has been given time to work out the modalities and the decision to put on cash and carry from July 30 has been "deferred till further notice."

Generally, airlines pays for facilities provided by AAI like route navigation, landing, parking etc on a monthly basis. Under cash and carry mode though an airline has to pay daily for the facilities used at an airport.
31/07/20 Manju V/Times of India

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AAI defers decision to put SpiceJet on cash and carry mode

Mumbai: Airports Authority of India (AAI) has "deferred" its decision to put SpiceJet NSE -0.95 % on cash and carry mode till further notice and operations of the carrier continue to be normal as before, an airline spokesperson said on Thursday. On Wednesday, state-owned AAI had decided to put the carrier on cash and carry mode but the decision was deferred later in the day.
Airlines usually pay monthly charges to airport operators. Under the cash and carry mode, carriers have to make payments on a daily basis to avail services for their flights.
"The Airports Authority of India (has) deferred its decision to put SpiceJet on cash and carry. We continue to have normal operations at all AAI-run airports as before without any impediments," the airline spokesperson said.
The response was for a query on whether AAI has put the airline on cash and carry mode.
AAI had told its regional executive directors on Wednesday to work out modalities for implementing the cash and carry mode for SpiceJet. However, later on Wednesday, the decision was deferred till further orders, according to communications issued by AAI.
30/07/20 PTI/Economic Times

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IndiGo and SpiceJet earnings presage a torrid period ahead for Indian aviation

IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation), the country’s biggest carrier by domestic market share and fleet, declared a loss of Rs 2,884 crore in Q1 FY21. The company declared its result within minutes of rival SpiceJet declaring a loss of Rs 807 crore for Q4 FY20. While the two numbers are for two different quarters and do not allow apple to apple comparison, it says a lot about the state of aviation in the country and throws light on the finances of SpiceJet.

For IndiGo, this was the worst ever quarter and came exactly a year after the airline recorded its best ever quarter on the back of Jet Airways suspending operations last year.
Spicejet’s loss of Rs 807 crore for Q4 FY20 was marginally lower than IndiGo’s Rs 871 crore loss. But Spicejet is only 40 percent of IndiGo in terms of fleet. For the same period last year, the airline had recorded a Rs 56.3 crore profit. The airline has seen 13 of its B737MAX aircraft being grounded since last March and the quarter saw the airline budget Rs 134.5 crore as compensation, while for the year it was Rs 671.8 crore! None of this is yet vetted by Boeing and there continues to remain uncertainty about the exact number. At the same time the airline has also admitted that it has deferred some payment to various parties including vendors and express inability to determine all such costs and penalties!

The airline reported a net loss of Rs 934.8 crore for FY20, of which Rs 807 was recorded in the last quarter - a quarter which wasn’t fully affected by COVID-19 as the next one, for which the airline has not declared its results. The airline’s financial position remains precarious with a cash or cash equivalent of Rs 28.15 crore at the end of last fiscal.

The green shoots for SpiceJet could well be the cargo operations. The airline had started a subsidiary, SpiceXpress, and the revenue from freight and logistics services went up four times over the same quarter last year.
29/07/20 Ameya Joshi/moneycontrol.com

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Ahead of IndiGo and SpiceJet earnings, passenger occupancy levels show fatigue

Flight occupancy held steady initially after airlines resumed operations when the coronavirus lockdown restrictions eased but the average number of passengers per plane has been falling in the past two weeks.
While load factors have hovered around 60 percent or lower in June, the interesting bit to find out here is who are the passengers. It was largely believed that air traffic would go down after the initial spike but it has been steady in the initial days. However, the last two weeks have seen the passenger numbers remain the same even while the number of flights go up, indicating a fall in traffic.
Read Ameya Joshi's analysis in full >>

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SpiceJet to become first Indian budget airline to operate twin aisle; to fly Amsterdam-Bengaluru on August 1

New Delhi: SpiceJet will become the first Indian low cost carrier (LCC) to operate a wide body aircraft on medium and long haul routes. The Ajay Singh-owned airline has taken an Airbus A330-900neo on wet lease (on rent with operating crew) from Portuguese charter firm Hifly. This aircraft will perform its first flight for the Indian budget airlines on August 1 when it brings home Indians from Amsterdam to Bengaluru.

“This A330-900 can do India-US nonstop. We plan to utilise it initially for charters to wherever the demand is for. Later it may be used for schedule flights under the travel bubbles India is forming with some countries. That is an option. For now, it will be used for charters that can be booked by any organisation or NGO,” said a SpiceJet official.

According to Hifly website, the A330-900 new engine option has 371 seats — 353 in economy and 18 business. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the aircraft has a maximum range of 17,500 km. “The range with maximum passengers is 11,700 km. The maximum speed is 0.86 mach (1,062 kmph),” Hifly website says.

This aircraft will do the first medium haul flight for an Indian LCC when it departs Amsterdam Schiphol on August 1 at 2.45 pm, reach Bengaluru next day at 3.30 am and then leave for Hyderabad where it will arrive at 5.35 am (all timings local). “From India it can go anywhere as a charter depending on the demand,” said the official.

According to senior aviation analyst and head of CAPA Centre for Aviation (India) Kapil Kaul, the cost of dry-leasing (without crew) this aircraft is $ 7-7.5 lakh per month. “I see this as short and temporary operation for a limited period,” Kaul said.
27/07/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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SpiceJet to operate first long-haul flight to Amsterdam on Aug 1

Mumbai: Airline major SpiceJet will operate its first long -haul flight to Amsterdam.

The airline will operate the non-stop flight from India to Amsterdam from August 1. Just last week, the airline major was allowed to operate flights to the US and the UK.

Accordingly, the Centre designated the airline as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate between India and the UK under the Air Services Agreement.

The designation allows for the international expansion of the airline.

Presently, only Air India operates long-haul flights from India to Europe and the US.
27/07/20 IANS/ETNowNews.com

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How India’s SpiceJet Is Using Tech to Innovate During the Pandemic

Indian budget airline SpiceJet doesn’t grab the big headlines, given that it’s overshadowed by state-owned Air India. Yet a look at how SpiceJet has expanded its software development work and hired more engineers — including its acquisition this week of the tech consultancy Travenues — tells a broader industry story.
Read Sean O'Neill's detailed note on this >>

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SpiceJet to operate first long-haul flight to Amsterdam on Aug 1

New Delhi: Airline major SpiceJet will operate its first long -haul flight to Amsterdam.
The airline will operate the non-stop flight from India to Amsterdam from August 1. Just last week, the airline major was allowed to operate flights to the US and the UK.

Accordingly, the Centre designated the airline as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate between India and the UK under the Air Services Agreement.

The designation allows for the international expansion of the airline.

Presently, only Air India operates long-haul flights from India to Europe and the US.

SpiceJet was established in 2005 and has a fleet of 82 Boeing 737, 29 Bombardier Q-400s, eight B737 and Bombardier Q-400 freighters and is the country's largest regional player operating 49 daily flights under UDAN or the Regional Connectivity Scheme.
27/07/20 Punjab News Express

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Two flights bring home 341 persons stranded abroad

Mohali: Two evacuation flights, under the Vande Bharat Mission of the Union Government to evacuate stranded Indians abroad, carrying 341 passengers landed at the Chandigarh international airport here today.
An Air India Express flight carrying 167 evacuated Indians from Sharjah arrived here at 3.30 am. A SpiceJet flight carrying 174 Indians from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) landed at the airport at 5.05 pm.
Till now, 25 international flights carrying 4,018 stranded Indian passengers from various countries have landed at the Chandigarh airport.
All repatriated persons, who mostly belong to different parts of Punjab, Haryana and nearby states, will reach their districts under the supervision of the respective state government representatives where they will be quarantined as per the government guidelines.
26/07/20 Tribune

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How Is SpiceJet Planning Long Haul Flights? It Owns No Widebodies

News that Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet is preparing to fly to the US and UK has taken many by surprise. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737s and Bombardier Q400s, neither of which have the range to fly to these countries non-stop. However, SpiceJet does have a plan to reach these long-haul destinations.

The simple answer to how SpiceJet will fly long-haul is wet leasing. A wet lease is when a lessor provides an airline with the plane as well as the crew. This allows an airline to almost immediately start flying the leased plane, without needing its own crew or certifications.

SpiceJet is not new to wet leasing , the airline has previously taken on A320s to fill gaps in its schedule due to the MAX crisis. A number of airlines wet lease planes to add capacity when their fleets are facing an issue or there is high demand. The current crisis has hit lessors hard, with airlines canceling wet least contracts due to the drop in demand.

SpiceJet’s wet lease agreement is reported to be with Oman Air to provide up to three A330s. The A330 offers enough range to reach the UK from India, although it could fall short of reaching the US depending on the variant.

Oman Air is also offering one more valuable asset to SpiceJet: a slot at London Heathrow, according to sources. In a different time (just a year ago actually), slots at Heathrow sold for millions each due to capacity restrictions. Oman Air itself holds the record for the most expensive slot purchase at $75 million for a primetime slot.
However, 2020 has upturned the previous rules of the airline world, with Oman Air now willing to give up its Heathrow slot with a wet lease agreement. Oman Air’s A330s will be a good fit for SpiceJet, allowing them to fly to London immediately and fulfill the pent-up demand in the market.

While it does sound like SpiceJet is ready to jump into the market and provide a low-cost alternative, some important questions remain. SpiceJet itself is yet to make any official announcements about its long-haul plans, except that it has permission from the Indian government to fly. There are still no details about the wet lease or reciprocal permissions from the US and UK.
25/07/20 Syd Sharma/Simple Flying

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Sonu Sood's flight of kindness, courtesy Spicejet this time

After helping countless migrants reach home during the first few months of the Coronavirus lockdown we can say that Sonu Sood has been at the forefront during the Coronavirus pandemic. Now, Actor Sonu Sood is looking beyond borders. In another stellar act of kindness, the actor has decided to bring back over 1500 stranded Indians from Kyrgyzstan.
Times Now brings you visuals from the flight where we can see the students cheering on. He took this initiative with the help of airline carrier SpiceJet.
Actor Sonu Sood and SpiceJet CEO Ajay Singh spoke to Times Now's Pranesh Kumar Roy to detail their collaboration to help the stranded students.
25/07/20 Pranesh Kumar Roy/TimesNowNews.com

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Following US alert, DGCA directs SpiceJet, AI Express & Vistara to inspect their Boeing 737s

New Delhi: Aviation authorities will inspect the Boeing 737s of SpiceJet, Vistara and Air India Express — the three airlines that use this aircraft in India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) took this step after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing 737s that have not flown for seven or more days at a stretch.

In addition, those B737s too will be inspected that have not done more than 10 flights after return to service from their most recent period of storage due to the pandemic. The US regulator warned that corrosion of certain parts could lead to twin engine failure on such B737s. A senior DGCA official said, “We have asked for compliance from the operators concerned — Vistara, SpiceJet and Air India Express.”
Boeing said in a statement: “Out of an abundance of caution, Boeing has advised operators of 737 Classic airplanes (series -300 to -500) and Next-Generation 737s (series -600 to -900) to inspect an engine valve for corrosion. With airplanes being stored or used infrequently due to lower demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, the valve can be more susceptible to corrosion. Boeing is providing inspection and replacement information to fleet owners if they find an issue.”
A SpiceJet spokesman said: “The FAA AD applies to a small number of B737s in our fleet that haven’t yet completed ten cycles on return of aircraft to service. They are being inspected. The majority of our planes have completed ten cycles already and are not affected by this AD.” A Vistara spokesperson said the airline is “in compliance (with it). The inspection has already been completed on all six of our B737 aircraft.”
The FAA says the alert “was prompted by four recent reports of single-engine shutdowns caused by engine bleed air fifth stage check valves stuck in the open position. The FAA is issuing this AD to address corrosion of the engine bleed air fifth stage check valves for both engines, which could result in compressor stalls and dual-engine power loss without the ability to restart, which could result in a forced off-airport landing.”
24/07/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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SpiceJet faces rough weather

Bengaluru: Low-cost carrier, SpiceJet, has flown right into severe turbulence due to stressed liquidity , a ratings downgrade, and to top it all, a $43-million case against the company by Bombardier for failing to honour contractual commitments.

SpiceJet has also failed to extract compensation from Boeing for the grounded B737 Max 8 fleet, though it has already accounted for a sum of ₹246 crore as income in the December 2019 quarter, the last quarterly results declared by the company.

SpiceJet had placed an order for 25 Bombardier aircraft with options for 25 more. Having taken delivery of five aircraft, the airline declined to acquire the rest citing “non-performance” as the reason.

Bombardier has now dragged the airline to court in the UK for $43 million against 20 aircraft (DHC-8Q-402) yet to be delivered.

A spokesperson for SpiceJet claimed that the charges are unfounded. “SpiceJet will defend its stand, and as the matter is now sub-judice, we would not like to comment further on the same,” he said. “The claims of the Canadian manufacturer are unfounded and completely denied by SpiceJet. SpiceJet has already fulfilled its contractual obligations and remains committed to its performances under its arrangement. SpiceJet, in turn, has a counter-claim for certain non-performance by the Canadian manufacturer, which is actively pursued by us,” the spokesperson said.

The legal wrangle with Bombardier comes even as the airline is grappling with liquidity issuesdue to low cash reserves and weak revenues that come mostly from its cargo operations rather than the main business of ferrying passengers.

Rating agency Crisil has downgraded its letter of credit facility which might make it difficult for the airline to raise additional funding. The downgrade factors in deterioration in SpiceJet’s liquidity profile, as reflected in the invocation of standby letter of credit , which remained unpaid for more than 30 days as on June 29. SpiceJet’s liquidity deteriorated because of disruption in operations, Crisil said in its note.
25/07/20 K Giriprakash/Business Line

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SpiceJet says it has won rights to fly to the US, UK: Is it a big deal and other questions answered

By any measure, the development is a significant one. SpiceJet has now got rights to operate flights to the US and the UK, among the two busiest destinations out of India.

Approval for the UK destinations came on July 24, a day after SpiceJet got designated for the US. With this, the airline has presumably taken an early lead among its private peers, especially IndiGo and Vistara, who are also eager to fly to these two countries.

At present, Air India is the only Indian airline operating flights to these markets. No private airline, since Jet Airways got grounded in April last year, has flown to these long haul destinations.

Industry observers, however, pointed out many questions that remain unanswered. Most crucial of which is this: What after getting designated; what is the next step for SpiceJet?
The US and the UK are two countries with big Indian diaspora. Destinations such as New York and London have the heaviest traffic on flights from India.

Even for the Vande Bharat Mission flights, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had underlined that the US and London routes are the busiest.

In an earlier story in Moneycontrol, it emerged that Air India was making about Rs 2 crore from each of its flight to San Francisco, from Delhi. Since then United has started operations from India - after this controversy - and Air India itself has slashed fares by 25 percent. Despite the fare cuts and increased supply, these are routes good for business.

Though SpiceJet, and rest of its private peers, have begun operating repatriation flights to destinations in the Middle -East and the South-East, they also would be eager to get a piece of the other pies, which are Europe and North America.
24/07/20 Prince Mathews Thomas/Moneycontrol.com

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Why SpiceJet may feel time is right for US and UK services

Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet has secured “designated carrier” status for scheduled services to both the USA and the UK – the first firm step towards beginning flights to both countries.

Such long-haul markets have proven hostile to the low-cost model in the past, and SpiceJet has provided no details about when – or with what aircraft – it would seek to serve them.

But while announcing that the designated carrier status had been secured for US flights on 23 July, the airline’s managing director Ajay Singh stated: “It gives me immense pleasure to share that SpiceJet has been designated as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate between India and the US. This designation would help us plan for our international expansion in a much better and calibrated manner.
“I have always maintained that there is an opportunity in every adversity and the present crisis situation has seen SpiceJet rise to the occasion and play a pivotal role,” he adds, referring to the airline’s cargo operations and repatriation flights during the coronavirus crisis.

Late on 24 July, the carrier announced that it had received similar clearance to operate flights to the UK.

To reach the point of serving the USA and the UK, however, a number of hurdles are ahead, beyond the need to source the right aircraft.

Among those would be receiving foreign carrier approvals from the US and UK regulatory bodies, who would consider SpiceJet’s financial and safety records.

The carrier would also need to secure slots at the airports that it intends to serve.

True long-haul flights would therefore be a significant strategic change for the budget operator, whose domestic-focused network also includes some international flights within Asia and to the Middle East, served by single-aisle types.
24/07/20 Lewis Harper/Flight Global

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Designated as Indian carrier to operate to USA, SpiceJet says

New Delhi: SpiceJet has been designated as a scheduled Indian carrier to operate flights to the US. The low cost carrier (LCC) has for some time been considering wet-leasing (hiring with operating crew) wide body aircraft for international flights.
SpiceJet is reportedly looking at wet-leasing twin aisleAirbus A330 Neo to fly India-US nonstop. The airline is also learnt to be examining having a wide body freighters, including the jumbo jet in all-cargo version.
“This is to inform you that in terms of the Air Services Agreement between the government of India and the government of the United States of America, SpiceJet has been designated as Indian scheduled carrier to operate on agreed services between India and the USA,” the LCC said in a BSE on Thursday.
SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said: “It gives me immense pleasure to share that SpiceJet has been designated as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate between India and the US. This designation would help us plan for our international expansion in a much better and calibrated manner. I have always maintained that there is an opportunity in every adversity and the present crisis situation has seen SpiceJet rise to the occasion and play a pivotal role.”
"From operating over 4300 cargo flights to carrying over 24,000 tons of cargo to operating over 400 charter flights to bring back thousands of stranded Indian nationals back home, SpiceJet has worked non-stop and contributed in whatever manner possible,” Singh added.
23/07/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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SpiceJet, Sonu Sood To Bring Back 1,500 Indian Students From Kyrgystan

New Delhi: After helping hundreds of migrant labourers return home at the height of the countrywide coronavirus lockdown, Actor Sonu Sood has joined hands with SpiceJet to evacuate 1,500 Indian students from Kyrgystan.
The information was shared by SpiceJet's on Twitter, where the airline said it would be operating nine such flights, first of which took off from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport today.
"It is a historic day! SpiceJet, in association with the real life hero Sonu Sood, is embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime evacuation operation to reunite 1500 Indian students stranded in Kyrgyzstan, with their families. The first of 9 special flights has taken off from Delhi!" tweeted SpiceJet, the first Indian budget carrier to be allowed to operate services to the United States. Only the national carrier Air India was operating flights on India-US routes till now.
Earlier, besides hiring buses to send migrant labourers to their home states amid the coronavirus lockdown, actor Sonu Sood had also mobilised resources to charter flights to Assam and Dehradun sending more than 300 men, women and children home.

The coronavirus crisis had left thousands of migrant workers unemployed, homeless and hungry and pushed lakhs to start walking home as the government imposed unprecedented travel restrictions across the country to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The government had suspended all road, rail and air travel services, including international flights, ahead of the lockdown that started March 25.
23/07/20 Nandini Gupta/NDTV

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177 evacuees from UAE reach Chandigarh

Mohali: Twenty third evacuation flight from the UAE, under the Vande Bharat Mission of the Centre, arrived at the Chandigarh international airport with 177 stranded Indian passengers today.
The SpiceJet flight No. SG 9302 reached the airport at 2.34 pm. All repatriated persons, who mostly belong to different parts of Punjab, Haryana and nearby states, will reach their districts under the supervision of the respective state government representatives. Processing of passengers went smooth at the airport with efforts of all authorities/agencies involved — Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh governments, CISF, immigration, customs and the Punjab Police.
The Health Department spokesman said during the screening of passengers, health officials took precautions and passengers maintained social distance.
He said no passenger was suffering from fever, cough and cold. He said all passengers were impressed upon by the Health Department teams deployed at the airport to take precautions such as cover their face with a mask, use hand sanitisers, washing hands and observe social distancing guidelines.
22/07/20 Tribune

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‘Keen on cargo flights from Nashik’

Nashik: Private airline company SpiceJet is keen on starting cargo flights from Nashik and has already started a survey to find the export potential of the district. Apart from agricultural produce, goats, pharma and other industrial products are exported at large from Nashik. “We are planning to start cargo operations from Nashik shortly and we have already begun with the groundwork. We have initiated discussions with freight agents like Halcon and industry bodies to assess and develop the market from Nashik,” an official from SpiceJet said. “We have plans to develop Nashik into a cargo hub that caters to the entire district and adjoining industrial belts,” he added.
21/07/20 Tushar Pawar/Times of India

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