SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) says it will return four aircraft to service by mid-June as part of its broader commitment to re-activate 25 parked planes. In a May 23 filing with the Mumbai Stock Exchange (BSE), SpiceJet said that it plans to resume operating two B737s and two DHC-8-Q400s by June 15, with more aircraft to follow.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, 33 of SpiceJet's 66 aircraft are currently parked. SpiceJet is maintaining services despite its financial challenges and lessor skittishness, with several attempting to de-register and re-possess aircraft, and another, Aircastle, trying to have the carrier declared insolvent.
ch-aviation data indicates three of SpiceJet's five B737-700s are inactive; two of the three B737-700(BDSF)s are inactive; ten of the thirteen B737-8s are inactive (two of the active B737-8s are wet-leased in from Corendon Airlines); nine of the fifteen B737-800s are inactive; one of the three B737-900ERs are inactive; and eight of the twenty-seven DHC-8-Q400s are inactive. The BSE filing did not identify the aircraft to be re-activated, or in the case of the B737s, the type.
In addition to re-activating aircraft, SpiceJet says it is relaunching and launching several routes, including two new international routes that will operate under the Indian government's UDAN scheme. Those routes are Agartala - Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Imphal - Mandalay International (Myanmar). The airline is also restarting three domestic routes and launching another three.
