In its latest earnings report for the quarter ending June 30, SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has said that an interim offer of MAX-related compensation from Boeing is “higher than the amount recognised by the company” and that it “is confident in the ultimate collection” of this income.

In relation to the compensation, the low-cost carrier has added INR8.6 billion rupees (USD117 million) to its published accounts over the last five quarters, under “other income from compensation and related foreign exchange gains.”

SpiceJet is one of the world’s biggest customers for the MAX and took delivery of thirteen B737-8s prior to the type's grounding in mid-March 2019. It has a further 129 of them on firm order from the manufacturer.

However, although the quarterly report's auditors, Mumbai-based SR Batliboi & Associates, “have qualified their report on the financial results in this regard,” they cautioned that “there is no virtual certainty to recognise such other income and related receivable.”

According to Bloomberg, the comments in the report provide some insight into the costs Boeing may incur in having to compensate airlines around the world for lost revenue related to MAX aircraft, which is still under review at the United States Federal Aviation Administration but may return to service by the end of 2020.

SpiceJet posted a net loss of INR5.934 billion (USD80.6 million) for the quarter, slumping from its highest-ever first-quarter profit of INR2.617 billion (USD35.6 million) a year earlier.

However, during the period it was the only Indian carrier with a dedicated freighter fleet, with, the ch-aviation fleets module shows, three B737-700(BDSF)s and two B737-800(BCF)s. These and makeshift freighter passenger aircraft have transported 50,000 tonnes of cargo on more than 7,000 flights since the lockdown, SpiceJet said.

SpiceJet has now resumed 179 routes, 165 of them domestic, according to the ch-aviation capacities module, and on September 21 it announced the launch of daily services connecting remote Bihar Darbhanga in the northeastern state of Bihar with Bangalore International, Delhi International, Mumbai International, starting November 8, deploying B737-800s on all three routes.

Darbhanga, where work rebuilding the terminal is due to be completed by the end of October, will be the airline's 13th destination under the Ministry of Civil Aviation's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which provides subsidies to carriers to offer low fares.