SpiceJet – 'Flying for everyone' during terror times in Mumbai

Mumbai: The recent terror attacks on the financial capital of India, Mumbai has impacted the Indian tourism industry in a big way. The attacks have struck country's tourism industry at the start of the peak season, compounding problems for hotels and airlines who were already hit by the global recession. Many of the international and domestic flights were either cancelled or rescheduled on November 27, 28 and 29, 2008. SpiceJet Airlines offered 'on-time' flight departures without any cancellations or delays during the terror times in Mumbai. The airline offered passengers a choice of either rescheduling or total refund for the passengers flying from, via or to Mumbai during November 27, 28 and 29, 2008. No charges on cancellations and total refund is applied on these flights from, to or via Mumbai.
Even IndiGo airlines, another Indian Low Cost Carrier (LCC) offered this service. IndiGo had no specific plans for offering cancellations and total refund at zero charges, but have undertaken personal requests from consumers. “We did receive requests from clients to either cancel or postpone their bookings and we did it as per their requirements on person-to-person basis,” said Ghosh.
29/11/08 TravelBizMonitor

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AI, Spicejet likely to reduce fares

Air India (AI) is expected to reduce air fares by 12%, bringing it into effect by December. “The fare cut will be introduced first on the domestic route,” said an official.
“It might include reduction in fuel surcharge as AI does not levy congestion surcharge,” he said.
“A decision on fares could be expected shortly. There is a need to stimulate the market by making more people fly,” said Jitendra Bhargava, AI spokesperson.
Following in its footsteps would be Spicejet. “A decline in jet fuel prices is enabling the carrier to reduce fares and attract more passengers,” said Ajay Singh, director, Spicejet. “We are reviewing the fare cut and will announce it shortly,” confirmed an official. Kingfisher Airlines maintained it will go for a fare cut only if the aviation turbine fuel was placed under “declared goods” category.
25/11/08 Daily News & ANalysis

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Spicejet Q2 losses increase four-fold

Mumbai: Low cost carrier Spicejet increased its net losses by 421 per cent at Rs 197.54 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 as compared to Rs 37.70 crore in the corresponding period last year.
However, the sales for the quarter recorded a growth at Rs 340 crore increased by 53 per cent over the corresponding quarters in the last year at Rs 222.71 crore.
The increase in losses can be attributed to the increase in aircraft fuel costs and the volatility in the foreign exchange markets.
During the quarter aircraft fuel costs at Rs 253.24 crore increased by 80 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter in the last year, where the costs amounted to Rs 140.23 crore.
21/11/08 Business Standard

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SpiceJet CFO resigns, may join Whirlpool

New Delhi: Gurgaon-based airline firm SpiceJet Ltd’s chief financial officer Parth Sarathi Basu has quit the airline after serving it for over a year and half.
Low-fare carrier SpiceJet holds nearly 10% of the domestic market by passenger share and raised nearly $80 million (Rs404 crore today) from US-based private equity fund WL Ross and Co. Llc. in July.
The CFO’s exit comes amid a challenging environment for the airline, given that it posted a loss of nearly Rs198 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal and has already seen its chief executive officer (CEO) Sidhantha Sharma quit in July. Basu is likely to rejoin Whirlpool of India Ltd, where he worked before joining SpiceJet. The firm has appointed US-based Sanjay Aggarwal as the new CEO who took over his new role on Monday.
21/11/08 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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SpiceJet Flies to the Top with Frost & Sullivan Award

New Delhi, London: Frost & Sullivan bestows its prestigious award "2008 Emerging Company of the Year Award for Indian Commercial Aviation" on SpiceJet. As a low-cost carrier that commenced operations in 2005, SpiceJet has built a reputation for low fares with high customer value offering, achieving a revenue growth of 121 per cent in 2007 and capturing a sizeable market share of 10.5 per cent in 2008.
The award will be handed over formally by Frost and Sullivan to SpiceJet Limited on Thursday, November 20, 2008 in London at a special ceremony commemorating the feat.
This annual award is presented to a company that has emerged as a significant player within its industry by exhibiting outstanding management, superior market growth, exceptional customer service and the ability to combine technology and successful strategic initiatives. The winning company should also have exceptional know-how to take advantage of market changes through the execution of innovative strategies within the existing competitive landscape.
Today SpiceJet has around 100 flights daily covering 17 destinations -- a definite increase from 2006, when SpiceJet flew to 14 destinations with 83 flights operating daily. In 2006, the fleet size of SpiceJet was 11 aircraft. At the end of 2007, the airline added seven more aircraft to its fleet, with a further order for 13 aircraft from Boeing scheduled for delivery over 2008 - 2011. The number of passengers who flew with SpiceJet in 2006 was 2.21 million, rising to 3.7 million in 2007.
11/11/08 MarketWatch

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SpiceJet mixes up flights at IGI

New Delhi: At best, it’s bizarre. A SpiceJet flight bound for Chennai nearly took off with Bangalore-bound passengers, from the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday morning.
About 60 Bangalore-bound passengers boarded a SpiceJet bus from the domestic departure terminal, to be taken to their flight. Minutes later, the bus stopped near a SpiceJet aircraft and the passengers were made to queue up for the boarding process.
According to the passengers, some of them had boarded the flight when they were told by the crew that the aircraft was meant to fly to Chennai, not Bangalore. But Spicejet denied this and said the mistake was discovered on the ladder itself, while the boarding passes were being checked.
Ujawal Bedi, a resident of DLF City, Gurgaon said: “Among the passengers was a brother-sister duo. While the sister came on a different bus and boarded the right plane, her brother landed up outside the Chennai-bound one.”
The girl kept calling her brother and telling him she couldn’t find him on her flight and that this was how the error was discovered, she said.
However, none disagreed that chaos reigned supreme after the goof-up was discovered. Worse, the bus which had ferried the passengers to the Chennai-bound aircraft had left by then.
After some tense moments and frantic calls by the crew, the bus was back to rush the harried passengers to the right aircraft.
08/11/08 Sanjeev K. Ahuja and Sidhartha Roy/ Hindustan Times

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SpiceJet loss rises 5-fold to Rs 198 crore

New Delhi: Delhi-based low-cost carrier SpiceJet’s losses, including foreign exchange losses, widened more than five times for the quarter ended September, 2008, to Rs 198 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 38 crore in the same quarter last year.
The losses included a loss of Rs 48 crore on account of restatement of forex debt. The net loss, excluding the foreign exchange loss, stood at Rs 150 crore.
01/11/08 Business Standard

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SpiceJet resumes direct flight to Jaipur from Mumbai

Mumbai: Budget air-carrier, SpiceJet, on Friday announced its winter schedule with a couple of new flights, besides resuming its direct flight to Jaipur from Mumbai and Bangalore.
In addition, the new schedule also provides connectivity to Jammu and Srinagar, with a daily Bangalore-Delhi-Srinagar flight, a press release said here. India's financial hub, Mumbai, is now connected through a daily flight to Jammu with a stopover at D elhi and Srinagar via Delhi and Jammu, the release said.
The airlines also announced two daily direct flights, connecting Delhi with Goa.
31/10/08 Business Line

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