SpiceJet

1984–1996: ModiLuft era

The origins of SpiceJet can be tracked back to March 1984 when the company was established by Indian industrialist S. K. Modi to provide private air taxi services. On 17 February 1993, the company was named as MG Express and entered into technical partnership with the German flag carrier Lufthansa. The airline provided passenger and cargo services under the name of Modiluft before ceasing operations in 1996.

2005–2013: Inception and expansion

In 2004, the company was acquired by Ajay Singh and the airline planned to restart operations as SpiceJet following the low-cost model. SpiceJet leased two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2005 and planned to order 10 new aircraft for expansion. SpiceJet opened bookings on 18 May 2005 and the first flight was operated between Delhi and Mumbai on 24 May 2005. By July 2008, it was India's third-largest low-cost carrier in terms of market share after Air Deccan and IndiGo. Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired 37.7% stake in SpiceJet in June 2010 through Sun Group. The airline ordered 30 Boeing 737-8 aircraft worth US$2.7 billion July 2010 and a further 15 Bombardier Q4 Dash short-haul aircraft worth US$446 million in December 2010.

In 2012, SpiceJet suffered a loss of over ₹390 million (US$5.8 million) owing to increase in global crude prices. On 9 January 2012, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, reported that several airlines in India, including SpiceJet, have not maintained crucial data for the flight operations quality assurance. The Bombay Stock Exchange announced that ever since June 2011, SpiceJet had been suffering losses. In 2012, Kalanidhi Maran increased his stake in the airline by investing ₹1 billion (US$15 million) in the airline. The airline returned to profits at the end of the same year. In 2013, SpiceJet entered into an inter airline pact with Tigerair on 16 December 2013 which was later scrapped in January 2015.

2014–present: Downturn and recovery

In July 2014, SpiceJet announced up to 50 percent discount in air fares due to competition. In August 2014, SpiceJet became the second largest carrier in terms of passenger market share after IndiGo, beating full service carrier Jet Airways for the first time in its operational history. In December 2014, financial losses and unpaid dues led to cancellation of many domestic flights. Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a warning to the airline over non-payment of salaries and dues and the carrier was put on cash-and-carry mode by airport operators, meaning the airline can use the airport facilities only upon prior payment of money. On 17 December 2014, all flights were grounded after oil companies refused to refuel its planes due to non-payment of dues with flights resuming the next day. Flights resumed the next day. In January 2015, the Sun group sold its entire shareholding and transferred control to Ajay Singh.

In 2015, SpiceJet's operations experienced a significant turn around with 93 percent of available seats on flights being filled and only 0.13 percent of scheduled flights canceled each month. The airline became profitable in the first three consecutive quarters of the year 2015, in contrast to the previous five quarters when it suffered losses. As of October 2016, it is the fourth largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried with a 12.9 percent market share.

Corporate affairs

SpiceJet is headquartered in Gurgaon, India. Ajay Singh serves as the Managing Director of the airline since January 2015. The airline's logo consists of 15 dots arranged in three rows of five each in the order of their reducing sizes on a red background. In June 2015, the airline unveiled its current logo with a new tagline Red. Hot. Spicy. SpiceJet names all its aircraft with the name of an Indian spice.

SpiceJet is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange

Destinations

As of March 2017, SpiceJet operates 306 flights daily to 35 Indian and 6 international destinations. It operates hubs at Delhi and Hyderabad, which is the primary base for its fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft. After completing five years of flying, SpiceJet was allowed to commence international flights by Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 7 September 2010. SpiceJet launched flights from Delhi to Kathmandu and Chennai to Colombo and the first international flight took off on 7 October 2010 from Delhi.

Fleet

As of September 2016, the airline operates the following aircraft:

New orders

SpiceJet placed its first firm order for 20 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s in March 2005, with deliveries scheduled up to 2010. In November 2010, in the presence of US president Barack Obama, the airline ordered 30 Boeing 737-800s. On 9 December 2010, Bombardier Aerospace announced that SpiceJet had placed a firm order for fifteen Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners with options for another fifteen. SpiceJet used its fleet of Q400s for short-haul operations.

In March 2014, the airline signed a US$4.4 billion deal with Boeing for the procurement of 42 737 MAX 8 aircraft. In 2015, SpiceJet was in talks with both Boeing and Airbus for a possible order of more than 100 single aisle aircraft, either Airbus A320neo or the Boeing 737 MAX with the same being confirmed by Managing Director, Ajay Singh, in a conference in Dubai.

In January 2017, the airline placed a firm order for 100 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and revealed itself as the airline behind the 13 MAX 8 aircraft previously attributed to an unidentified customer, taking its total order to 155 MAX 8 aircraft with purchase rights for 50 additional MAX 8 and wide-body aircraft. The carrier and Boeing have also discussed proposals for the stretched version of the MAX 9, dubbed the 10X, which would seat 230 passengers and be available from 2020.

Services

SpiceJet has moved away from the typical low-cost carrier service model of economy class-only seating. The airline offers premium services under the name SpiceMax, whereby passengers can obtain additional benefits including pre-assigned seats with extra legroom; complimentary meals on board; priority check-in and boarding; and priority baggage handling; at a higher fare. Otherwise SpiceJet does not provide complimentary meals in any of its flights for it does have a buy-on board in-flight meal programme. SpiceJet does not operate any frequent-flyer programme and does not provide any in-flight entertainment options.

Awards and recognition