Budget airline SpiceJet on Tuesday said that it plans to bring four grounded aircraft back into service by June 15, following which more such aircraft are expected to become operational in the following weeks.
As of now, the airline has some 25 grounded aircraft. The air passenger carrier is targeting the return of four of its grounded aircraft, two Boeing 737s and two Q400s, by June 15.
Last week, SpiceJet had said there is no impact on its operations after the country’s civil aviation regulator deregistered three aircraft leased to the airline.
At that time, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) deregistered two grounded and one operational planes that were leased to SpiceJet.
Recently, a few lessors have taken SpiceJet to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for commencement of insolvency proceedings against the airline. The tribunal has set May 25, as the next date of hearing the plea of lessor Aircastle.
The airline has maintained that it plans to revive 25 grounded aircraft to help it capitalise and make the most of the upcoming peak travel season.
Besides, the budget carrier has stated that it has no plans “whatsoever to file for insolvency”.
On Tuesday, the airline marked the completion of 18 years of operations. Its first commercial flight took place on May 23, 2005 from Delhi to Ahmedabad.
In addition to reviving grounded aircraft, SpiceJet plans to start a slew of flights, including two international UDAN services on the Agartala-Chattogram-Agartala and Imphal-Mandalay-Imphal sectors by June end.
“The airline also plans to launch a new UDAN flight on Kolkata-Tezpur-Kolkata sector and restart Kolkata-Gwalior-Kolkata and Jammu-Gwalior-Jammu UDAN flights,” the airline said.
“In addition, SpiceJet will launch flights on Kolkata-Agartala-Kolkata and Kolkata-Imphal-Kolkata sectors and restart flights on Kolkata-Chattogram-Kolkata sector.”
Additionally, the airline announced a special sale with one-way domestic fares starting at Rs 1,818 on select routes such as Bengaluru-Goa and Mumbai-Goa.
The offer is valid for bookings made between 23rd and 28th May, 2023. The travel period for bookings under the offer is between 1st July and 30th March, 2024.
