The managing director of SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) says the airline aims to increase its fleet to 100 aircraft by the end of 2026. Ajay Singh made the comments to the Economic Times newspaper in the wake of the carrier confirming an oversubscribed INR30 billion rupee (USD359 million) capital raising.

"SpiceJet is an airline that has strong fundamentals but was hamstrung by two black swan events one after the other, the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, followed by the Covid pandemic," said Singh. "But we have all the infrastructure ready to become a 100-strong fleet again. We have the airport slots, international traffic rights, pilots and crew, as well as the maintenance infrastructure."

His comments followed the low-cost carrier's successful capital raising. The airline managed to drum up the targeted INR30 billion in two days last week through a qualified institutional placement. Participants included Goldman Sachs (Singapore), Morgan Stanley Asia, BNP Paribas Financial Markets ODI, Nomura Singapore Limited ODI, Tata Mutual Fund, Discovery Global Opportunity Ltd, Societe Generale ODI, Authum Investment and Infrastructure Limited, Bandhan Infrastructure Fund, White Oak, Carnelian Bharat Amrikaal Fund, 360 ONE Equal Opportunity Fund, and The Jupiter Global Fund.

"The strong response from investors and institutions is a testament to their faith in SpiceJet’s potential to rapidly scale and become a formidable player in India’s burgeoning aviation market," said Singh. "This fundraise marks a pivotal moment for SpiceJet as we look to scale new heights in the aviation industry.”

In addition, the airline confirmed raising INR7.36 billion (USD88 million) from capital raising efforts earlier this year, substantially less than the targeted INR22.5 billion (USD269 million) then sought. However, it said that substantial amounts from both fundraising exercises will go towards ungrounding aircraft and acquiring more planes.

ch-aviation fleets data shows SpiceJet's inactive fleet has grown to 40 aircraft, up from 39 earlier this month, meaning just 16 of its 56-strong fleet (plus five wet-leased aircraft) are active. In filings ahead of the latest capital raising, SpiceJet admitted that most of its inactive fleet was grounded because of lease defaults and financial constraints.

Singh now says the airline has the money to unground the fleet. He says he intends to have 40 aircraft in the air by March 2025 and a further 40 added over the following 12 months. This includes taking on some short-term wet-leased aircraft.

Meanwhile, another creditor has filed an insolvency petition against SpiceJet in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), India's specialist bankruptcy court. The carrier owes eCommerce platform Techjockey Infotech almost INR12 million (USD143,500). NCLT records show the complaint was lodged on September 13. The company joins Aircastle, Raymach Technologies, Engine Lease Finance, Alterna Aircraft, Shannon Engine Support and a trio of DAE Capital special purpose vehicles all trying to have SpiceJet declared insolvent.