SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has finalised lease agreements for an additional ten aircraft, according to a March 14 Bombay Stock Exchange filing. The jets will arrive in time to service the 2024 Northern Summer schedules, the disclosure said without naming the lessor(s).
"The additional aircraft will enable the airline to meet the growing demand for air travel, particularly during the busy summer months," it said.
It also noted that SpiceJet had received three airframes following the recent settlement of several lease disputes. While not disclosing the source of these aircraft, ch-aviation recently reported that the LCC had secured two as part of a settlement with Echelon Ireland Madison One Ltd., a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) controlled by California-based Pacific AirFinance.
In a separate March 15 stock exchange filing, SpiceJet said it had finalised a lease agreement for two A340s from an unspecified operator to use over the upcoming Hajj season, deploying the jets from Guwahati and Srinagar. It is unclear if these two aircraft are part of the ten announced the previous day. SpiceJet did not respond to a request for comment.
SpiceJet recently raised a total of USD127.9 million, part of a broader USD271.5 million capital raising. The money has allowed it to start settling long-running legal disputes and begin shoring up operations by acquiring additional aircraft.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, SpiceJet operates 64 aircraft, including eight wet-leased aircraft. However, the same data shows 29 of these planes as inactive, including three (out of five) B737-700s, one (out of three) B737-700(BDSF)s, two (out of twelve) B737-8s, six (out of nineteen) B737-800s, two (out of three) B737-900ERs, and fifteen (out of twenty-two) DHC-8-Q400s. The operational aircraft covers a network of 43 airports in five countries.
