No-frills carrier SpiceJet is on course to adding five big aircraft to its fleet of 43 planes, apart from three Bombardiers during the current financial year, according to Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director.
The CMD said they are also at an advanced stage of finalising a large order of aircraft acquisition, and this could work out even within a month if business goes as per plans.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event hosted by the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation here today, Singh said the airlines currently operates about 320 flights per day and expects to increase this by about 10 per cent during the course of this financial year.
“In addition to serving six overseas destinations, we are looking at connecting a few more foreign cities. This will be possible as we add more aircraft,” he said.
“While it is not possible to share the number of aircraft we will order at this time, we have finalised the vendors,” he said.
Sharing his experiences in helping turnaround SpiceJet, which was heading the Kingfisher Airlines way of bankruptcy, he said the airline has clocked consistent growth over the past 17 months and managed flight occupancy level in excess of over 90 per cent month-on-month.
“All the company debt, and various dues have been paid off, leases renegotiated and we are now at a stage for next phase of growth.
“Fortunately, we were also aided by lower fuel costs during the phase, we managed to turn it around from 2014 December when we took over from the Marans (the earlier owners),” he explained.
Untapped market The country's aviation market is under-penetrated with less than 2 per cent of the population flying.
This only shows there is a large untapped market out there provided airlines offer right connectivity not only to major cities but also connect to a number of tier II and III cities.
The regional connectivity offers immense scope for airliners as there is a huge untapped potential. There are about 400 airports in the country and of them barely 70 are being used. If developed, these present a big opportunity.
The North Eastern States need air connectivity as it takes 12 to 18 hours to reach some locations.
“We are also strengthening the network there,” he said.
“Having turned around and consistently logging more than 90 per cent occupancy, we have managed to garner a market share of about 13 per cent. The addition of new aircraft to the fleet and connections to new locations has the potential to increase the share,” he said.
However, the air fares have been ruling low in the recent times compared to the same time last year.
This leads to the challenge of managing the fleet competitively and profitably, he said.