Comments
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet will induct eight small aircraft into its fleet in 2011.
The airline had placed an order for 15 Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft with Bombardier for $446 million in December 2010.
“The first two Q400s will join the fleet in June. We will take the delivery of two more in July and one more in August,” SpiceJet, Chief Executive Officer, Mr Neil Raymond Mills, said on Tuesday.
Mr Mills added that the jets will be used for short flights between smaller cities in India from mid-July. SpiceJet also has the option of buying 15 more Q400s from Bombardier as part of the deal signed in December. Each turboprop aircraft will have a seating capacity of 68-78 passengers. The eight additional aircraft will take SpiceJet's fleet size to 33 as against 25 at present.
The domestic carrier plans to begin regional services with the Bombardier aircraft to connect smaller cities with the metros by mid-July, said Mr Mills. In India, there are around 97 runways where Q400s can land as compared to 36 runways where Boeing 737s can land.
With the additional aircraft, SpiceJet also has plans to add new routes. Mr Mills said that the airline is looking at one or two destinations in the SAARC region, but he did not specify the names of the locations.
The low-cost airline began its international operations in October last year with flights to Kathmandu and Colombo. However, it will not be using the smaller Q400 jets for the international destinations.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.