Another lessor, Aircastle, has filed a request with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deregister two B737-800s leased to SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International), notifications on the authority’s website show. A spokesperson for the low-cost carrier told local media the move would not impact its operations.
The Irish wing of the Connecticut-headquartered lessor lodged the request to delist VT-SYA (msn 34799) on March 9, while Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin), a Wilmington Trust Corporation affiliate acting as trustee for the lessor, asked to delist VT-SZK (msn 41398) on March 6, according to the notifications.
Aircastle is the latest lessor to lodge an Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA) with the civil aviation regulator seeking to remove B737s from SpiceJet’s fleet, following a spate of them last summer from Horizon Aviation, DAE Capital subsidiary AWAS, and Alterna Capital Partners.
An IDERA can be filed when talks over outstanding debts break down between an airline and a lessor. The process of deregistration is generally allowed after the aviation regulator checks whether the aircraft has any pending dues from tax authorities or airports.
According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, VT-SYA (currently in maintenance at Hyderabad International) and VT-SZK (active as of March 10) are both owned by Aircastle, the former via special purpose vehicle Klaatu Aircraft Leasing (Ireland) Ltd.
ch-aviation analysis of Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that VT-SYA was diverted to Hyderabad during a flight from Delhi International to Bengaluru International on November 12, 2022, where it remains, while VT-SZK has lately been deployed on a variety of domestic and international routes.
SpiceJet did not respond to ch-aviation’s requests for comment.
Two weeks ago, SpiceJet claimed to have agreed with another lessor, Carlyle Aviation Partners, to restructure a debt of over USD100 million into shares and debentures, giving it a 7.5% stake in the carrier.
