SpiceJet aims to have 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets by 2023

SpiceJet plans to induct 50 '737 Max' planes of Boeing in its fleet by December 2023, CMD of the low-cost airline, Ajay Singh, said on Tuesday, November 23.

Two SpiceJet's Max planes out of the total 13 in its fleet have started operating commercial flights since Sunday, November 21 he said at a press conference.

All Max planes were grounded in India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 13, 2019, three days after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max plane near Addis Ababa, which had left 157 people, including four Indians, dead.

After Boeing made necessary software rectifications, the DGCA had on August 26 this year lifted the ban on Max planes' commercial flight operations.

SpiceJet, the only operator of Max planes in the country, had signed a USD 22 billion deal (one billion is equal to 100 crores) with Boeing for 205 aircraft in 2017 and has 13 of these planes in its fleet at present.

"The first two have started flying already and the other 11 would start flying in the next 15-20 days," Singh said.

Apart from the aforementioned 13 Max planes, another four Max aircraft are lying in the Boeing facility for SpiceJet, he mentioned. The carrier has an order for 205 737 MAXs (155 firm orders and 50 on option) and has received 13 so far. Of these 13 jets, only two are back in service while 11 remain parked. However, the airline plans to have all of its MAXs back in service within the next three weeks.

(Image Courtesy - Flight Global)

The delivery of these four new Max planes will begin on December 10, he stated.

SpiceJet had on November 17 said it has agreed with the US-based aerospace company Boeing to settle outstanding claims related to the grounding of 737 Max aircraft and its service return.

Singh said that Boeing has provided compensation in both cash and kind.

"The idea is to completely replace our existing NG fleet (older version of 737 planes) in the coming months...The idea is to get 50 Max aircraft in 2022 and 2023. Out of the 50 Max planes, 15-20 will be replacement of NG aircraft and the remaining would be a new addition to the fleet," he said.

He also said there is absolutely no legal issue that is hampering the hive off of SpiceJet's cargo business.

(Image Courtesy - Flight Global)

"We expect that the hive off would be done by the end of this year and by January 2022, it would operate as a separate business," he added.

He also added that the airline would try to lease all these planes through GIFT City near Ahmedabad, which the government wants to grow as a leasing hub for the world.

Passenger demand sustainability is a worry SpiceJet is worried about the sustainability in demand of passengers in the domestic sector may not be sustainable, as cases in Europe have started to spike.

“The passenger demand has been good and we hope it sustains,” Singh said. He added that cases have been rising in Europe and Austria has announced a lockdown. “We hope that Europe can vaccinate more and more and able to control the surge as that may have an impact on demand.

He added that the situation in India is set to stay better (in terms of COVID infection numbers), as India has vaccinated a record number of people.

The airline is also looking at expanding its international operations using the 737 MAX. Possible destinations on the cards include Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. Additionally, the airline is exploring scheduled long-haul services, including Canadian and European destinations, using widebody aircraft.

SpiceJet Chairman & MD Ajay Singh said, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Airways is entering the sector at a very challenging time and hopes to avoid a price war with new competition.

He said price war in aviation creates monopolistic situations, hurting the sector. "The aviation industry has had many price wars. Ideally, we all need to work on reducing the cost of Indian aviation. Price wars are always unhealthy for the sector, it creates monopolistic situations. So people must be selling above cost."

The SpiceJet CMD said that while competition will hot up, what with many new players entering the Indian airspace (in the context of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's upcoming Akasa Air and Tatas buying Air India), it will be a high-cost market. 

India has been one of those markets where costs have traditionally been very high because of the taxes imposed on aviation, while fares have remained very low, he added.

"As far as new entrants are concerned, competition is always good, it makes you more efficient. However, it is a terrifically challenging market that Akasa Airways is entering. They are also not entering at the best of time because of the after-effects of COVID, price of oil and currency issue and so on. But I am sure they will find a way to make their business viable.Domestic space needs reasonable pricing but fare wars are not good and I hope that reasonable pricing is done. We cannot have a situation where the highest cost sector is selling at the lowest fares. This is not sustainable. We want larger states to reduce VAT on aviation turbine fuel as this will bring in more flights to these states and airport charges will also come down. The high-cost structure needs to be changed if the common man has to fly. I hope that ATF does come under GST."Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet

Singh said the reduction in airport charges and bringing aviation turbine fuel (ATF) under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, are extremely important for the sector.

(With Inputs from CNBC TV18)

Online travel services firm MakeMyTrip on Monday, November 22 said it will partner with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to promote regional air connectivity through the UDAN scheme.

As the UDAN scheme completes four years of connecting major cities with regional hubs, MakeMyTrip will now power UDAN flights on the AirSewa portal and market them on its platform to promote its visibility and product discovery to provide air connectivity to underserved destinations, the company said in a statement.

MakeMyTrip will also market UDAN flights offline through its large network of franchisee retail stores for offline booking, it added.

Quoting Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, the statement said, "As the RCS-UDAN scheme completes four successful years - our enabling policies, incentives and partnerships with leading travel players will only improve air connectivity for the common man at affordable airfares on regional and remote routes".

"UDAN is a first of its kind scheme globally and has immensely contributed to domestic aviation market growth. We are privileged to work closely with the government to promote regional air connectivity through online and offline travel channels and contribute towards Indian Aviation's transformation under the dynamic and bold leadership of Hon'ble minister."Deep Kalra, Founder and Executive Chairman, MakeMyTrip

At present 62 unserved and underserved airports, including five heliports, with 389 routes have been added under the UDAN scheme across the length and breadth of India, the statement added.

MakeMyTrip is an online travel company founded in 2000. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, the company provides online travel services including flight tickets, domestic and international holiday packages, hotel reservations, rail, and bus tickets.

As of 31 March 2018, they have 14 company-owned travel stores in 14 cities, over 30 franchisee-owned travel stores in 28 cities, and counters in four major airports in India. MakeMyTrip has offices in New York, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Bangkok, and Dubai.

SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh will fly along with his family members and Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia onboard a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from Delhi to Gwalior on Tuesday, November 23 to instil the faith of travellers on the aircraft that had a ban on it lifted recently.

SpiceJet will now restart flying its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that was grounded globally following two fatal crashes.

SpiceJet B737 MAX ready to take off

India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) finally allowed SpiceJet to restart the commercial use of the MAX aircraft. Singh told news agency ANI that regulators from across the world, especially the United States, Europe and India, had scrutinised multiple times and gave the nod for commercial operations.

To win the faith of passengers on the aircraft’s safety, Singh, his family and Jyotiraditya Scindia will fly in the 737 MAX aircraft. "On the first flight from Delhi to Gwalior, we will be flying with several of our people and my family members are flying with honourable Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia who will also be flying in 737 Max flight," Ajay Singh told ANI.

He said that SpiceJet currently has a fleet of 13 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and two of them are flying as of now. By December 10, he informed that all the remaining aircraft will be back in operation and deliveries of new aircraft will also start from next month. The domestic carrier has a total order of 205 jets worth $22 billion.

Singh said the 737 MAX is the safest aircraft in the world and the software rectification was made more than two and half years ago. He added the aircraft has been scrutinised for two years by regulators around the world.

SpiceJet is Boeing's biggest customer for the MAX planes in India.

“It (Boeing 737 MAX) has gone through the greatest ever scrutiny any aircraft may have undergone in the history of aviation. Our regulators have gone through every little piece of it in the last two years and now it is flying in many parts of the world. It can be called the safest aircraft in the world,” Mr Singh said. 

He informed that SpiceJet started flying the aircraft two days ago and so far no issue has been encountered at all. 

Elaborating about the problem being encountered with this particular model of the jet, the SpiceJet chief said that it was a software modification.  

Mr Singh said that though the scrutiny should not have taken such a long time, the regulators wanted to be extra vigilant and while SpiceJet came under a lot of pressure, it is good that precautions have been taken. 

Looking at the fact that SpiceJet has made heavy investments in MAX jets which are considered among the most fuel-efficient, the company chairman said that in the current scenario when fuel prices in India are among the highest in the world, these aircraft are 20% more fuel-efficient. 

He further informed that its engineering costs are also lower and these jets are one of the most well-designed aircraft. 

The SpiceJet head added that since fuel and engineering costs are the two most important factors in aviation, the Boeing MAX aircraft fulfil all requirements for them. 

Mr Singh further said that SpiceJet will provide broadband internet facilities for passengers on these aircraft by the end of the year. 

Last week, the airline entered into a settlement agreement with Boeing wherein the latter agreed to settle the outstanding claims of the grounding of its 737 Max aircraft and its service return. The settlement would ensure the induction of efficient and younger MAX aircraft into SpiceJet's fleet.

On losing out to the Tata Group on the Air India sale, Mr Singh said that despite being stressed with SpiceJet, he was game for it. 

“What's the point in being in the aviation sector if we are not up for a challenge!” he quipped.  

He added that despite losing out to the Tatas, it is good that the disinvestment went through. 

Wishing the Tata Group luck, Mr Singh said that they should now rebuild and revive the brand Air India.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia said the Centre plans to set up a Greenfield airport at Puri and Phase-II expansion of Jharsuguda Airport apart from making two more small airports operational in Odisha.

Scindia said this while attending the Udan Utsav celebrations at the Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Odisha’s Jharsuguda.

The Greenfield Airport at Puri and the Phase II expansion of Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda will commence following responses from the state government, the minister said.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia spoke at the event.

A greenfield airport is an aviation facility with greenfield project characteristics. The designation reflects certain environmental qualities and commissioning, planning and construction processes that are generally carried out from scratch. While a greenfield in nature is defined as a wide expanse of natural land (meadow, prairie, grassland), here greenfield denotes that a project lacks any constraints imposed upon it by prior work or existing infrastructure.

Such projects can be highly coveted by engineers as no time must be allotted for the demolition of unneeded buildings, etc. constructed in developed areas for the development of the particular place.

India's greenfield airport project schedule is among the world's most robust. India's annual civil aviation sector growth rate currently sits at 9% but is expected to reach the double digits for the coming years. Over the next two decades, the number of airports is expected to increase from 133 to 500. Of these, 367 are slated to be greenfield airports.

Jharduguda Airport, Odisha (Image Courtesy - Kalinga TV)

He said that Prime Minister Modi has "democratised the Indian Air Space". The common people could now get an opportunity to travel by air, which was once a dream for them, Scindia said.

He said that the development of Jharsuguda airport, which was inaugurated on this day by the Prime Minister on November 22, 2018, is a perfect example of cooperative federalism and a great success story of the Udan scheme.

He pointed out that of INR 225 crore invested for the development of Jharsuguda airport, the state government has contributed INR 75 crore while the remaining INR 150 crore came from the Centre.

"The number of flyers across the country during the pandemic saw a decline of 62% while Jharsuguda during the same period witnessed a mere drop of 5%. This shows the potential of the district and the region at large.We have set a target to increase this number by 220 in the next five years which will include helipads and water aerodromes. The number of airlines, routes have also increased significantly over the years due to the advent of the Udan scheme."Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation

Scindia thanked the Odisha government and said that this project is a classic example of development through federal cooperation. While highlighting the importance of Jharsuguda airport, Scindia said that while all airports around the country were witnessing a steep decline in the number of flyers during the COVID-19 pandemic time, Jharsuguda airport was among those few, which remained resilient.

On the success of the Udan scheme over the years, he said that the country had only 72 airports since independence while after 2014, the number of airports now stood at 136.

Speaking of the glory of the rich land of Jharsuguda and terming this western Odisha town as the `Power House of Odisha’ and India at large, Scindia said that the place, which is home to many brave freedom fighters, natural and cultural resources, was aptly chosen to celebrate the Udan Utsav.

He also announced a Special Joy Ride, an air ride, being planned for the elderly and children during the Udan Utsav celebrations which will also commemorate the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The Union Minister said that plans are afoot to increase flight frequency from Jharsuguda. Currently, Spice Jet and Alliance Air are operating flights to Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar and Raipur. It sees an average footfall of 28,000 fliers every month.

Nearly 180 acres of land is required for the phase-II development of Jharsuguda airport. Since Jharsuguda is a key agricultural belt, the Krishi Udan scheme can be used to assist farmers to transport agricultural products he added.

Scindia added that his Ministry is also expecting a report from the state government to resolve the issues of permission and licensing for Jeypore and Utkela airports in Odisha.

The minister also flagged off a new air route between Shilong and Dimapur under RCS Scheme which started from Meghalaya airport.

Rolls-Royce’s all-electric ‘Spirit of Innovation’  took to the skies for the very first time in September 2021.

Propelled by a powerful 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain, coupled with the most power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft, this is the company's yet another contribution towards the industry's ambitious aims of net-zero emissions shortly.

Rolls Royce has now shared, that its all-electric "Spirit of innovation" has set 3 new world records. All of the feats took place at the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down testing site in Wiltshire, United Kingdom.

Rolls Royce

The aircraft clocked a top speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 km on November 16, surpassing the current record by 213.04 km/h (132 mph) and thus cementing its place as the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle.

If that wasn't enough, she also managed to fly 532.1km/h (331 mph) over 15 km- a 92.8km/h (182mph) quicker than the previously held record.

Furthermore, it also set the record for the fastest climb rate - reaching 3,000 m by 60 seconds, with a figure of 202 seconds.

The powertrain, powered by 3 electric motors, is touted to provide a 90% energy efficient flight with only 10% of the energy being lost as sound and heat. In comparison, Formula1 cars are only 50% efficient.

Staking the claim for the all-electric world-speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. I would like to thank our partners and especially Electroflight for their collaboration in achieving this pioneering breakthroughRolls-Royce CEO Warren East shared in a company statement.

Rolls Royce CEO Warren East

Reportedly, Rolls Royce has sent its data to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which would verify all the records set by the all-electric aircraft.

COVER: Electrek