Spicejet has signed a $4.4 billion (about Rs 26,000 crore) deal with aircraft manufacturer Boeing for supply of 42 aircraft. Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice-President of Asia-Pacific and India Sales, Boeing, said order is for 737 MAX8s that offer fuel efficiency.
The two firms have formalised the deal at the inaugural of the India Aviation show that began here on Wednesday. This is the biggest ever deal announced at the show, which entered into its fourth edition.
"SpiceJet greatly values the ties we have built over the years with Boeing. The Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, the mainstay of the fleet ever since SpiceJet started operations, have vindicated our choice by their endurance, reliability and cost effectiveness," said S.L. Narayanan, Group CFO for The Sun Group. "The induction of Boeing 737 MAX will further modernise our fleet, improve customer experience, and ensure that we operate the most efficient fleet well into the future."
“The oder is a tremendous endorsement of the 737 MAX's unsurpassed fuel efficiency," Dinesh Keskar said.
Talking to reporters after announcing the deal, he said the capabilities of the 737 MAX would support SpiceJet's mission to become India's preferred low-cost airline.
Development of the 737 MAX is on schedule with firm configuration of the airplane achieved in July 2013. First flight is scheduled in 2016 with deliveries to customers beginning in 2017. The 737 MAX has accumulated more than 1,800 orders to date.
With today's announcement, SpiceJet has ordered 90 airplanes directly from Boeing, which includes the 737-800, 737-900ER and now the 737 MAX. To date, SpiceJet has taken delivery of 31 of the airplanes.
SpiceJet shares were trading up 4.24 per cent at Rs 14.74 at 2.18 pm. The shares had surged over 6 per cent in the morning session.