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Budget airline SpiceJet on Wednesday placed an order for 42 aircraft with Boeing for $4.4 billion (Rs 26,000 crore).
The firms signed the deal for 42 Boeing 737 MAX jets at the inaugural day of the 4th International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad. “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,” PTI quoted SL Narayanan, Group CFO of the Sun Group as saying.
“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,” he added. The 737 MAX incorporates the latest-technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market, he said.
“The order is a tremendous endorsement of the 737 MAX’s unsurpassed fuel efficiency,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The deal, however, falls short of the recent announcement by no-frill carrier IndiGo, where it said that it will acquire 180 A-320s worth an estimated $15.6 billion from European plane manufacturer Airbus. The airline, which is likely to launch international services later this year, signed a MoU with Airbus at Toulouse in France in mid-January for the single-aisle aircraft.
Inaugurating the exhibition, organised by ministry of civil aviation in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said that the rapidly expanding air transport network and opening of the airport infrastructure to private sector participation has fuelled the growth of air traffic in India. Currently the 9th largest aviation market, the sector is poised to handle 336 million domestic and 85 million international passengers by 2020, making India the third largest aviation market.
He further said that 49 per cent FDI by foreign airlines in Indian carriers has emerged as the biggest game changer, resulting in two new scheduled airlines in the process of starting their operations.
A number of global players have also entered Indian aerospace manufacturing, ground handling, training and capacity building, cargo and MRO industry. With PTI
