SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has chosen Boeing (BOE, Washington National) for its fleet renewal needs airline sources have told Bloomberg news. The Indian LCC had previously indicated it was weighing up the A320neo from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and the B737 MAX from Boeing for its future growth and expansion needs.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the Indian LCC would order "at least" ninety-two (92) B737s with a deal set to be closed within the next few weeks.

At present, SpiceJet operates an in-house fleet of forty-five aircraft including two B737-700s, twenty-two B737-800s, four B737-900(ER)s, and seventeen Dash 8-400s all of which are leased from third-party firms.

In its latest 2015/16 financial report, SpiceJet management said it expected India's domestic market to continue growing at its current rate of 20% through to year-end following which it will stabilise around 10-12%.

"With demonstrated profitability and growth potential, [an] increase in capacity is imperative to stay in line with demand growth to command a healthy market presence. The Company is close to placing a substantial fleet order to secure the long-term capacity requirements to address the robust demand," it said.

Despite the financial demands the new order will place on the airline, chairman Ajay Singh has come out against New Delhi's recent decision to amend caps on foreign ownership of local carriers.

As part of its drive to encourage greater investment in India's burgeoning aviation sector, Narendra Modi's government increased the cap on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in local airlines from the previous 49% to 100% albeit with certain restrictions applied and with government approval.

Under its revised terms, foreign carriers may still only hold a maximum of 49% in Indian passenger carriers but the remaining 51%, instead of being allocated to Indian nationals only, will now be available to other foreign entities not including airlines.

As such, Bloomberg reports Singh, along with the president of IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International), Aditya Ghosh, warned Indian Commerce and Industry Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, during a meeting last week that the relaxation in curbs may have certain "security implications" given the sensitive nature of the aviation sector.

The report did not elaborate on what specific concerns were raised.