SpiceJet plans to add 100 more daily flights to meet winter demand

Mumbai, Dec 10 (PTI) Domestic carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday said it is planning to introduce up to 100 additional daily flights during the current winter schedule.

The airline said it is looking to ramp up its flight operations amid the growing demand across key routes this winter, and also to ensure adequate capacity in the market.

The statement came a day after the government announced a 10 per cent cut in IndiGo's winter schedule in a bid to help the crisis-hit airline stabilise its operations and lead to reduced cancellations following the large-scale disruptions that started on December 1.

"As part of this (ramping up operations) effort, we plan to introduce up to 100 additional daily flights during the current winter schedule, subject to regulatory approvals," SpiceJet said in a statement.

Under the current winter schedule, SpiceJet has been allowed to operate 1,568 flights per week or 224 per day, which was 20.89 per cent higher compared to 1,297 flights per week, operated by the carrier during the last winter.

As compared to the summer schedule (1,240 flights per week) of this year, the growth was 26.45 per cent.

SpiceJet said in the past two months it has inducted 17 aircraft into active operations through a mix of damp lease and the return of its own aircraft to service.

"This enhanced fleet availability gives us the operational flexibility to deploy incremental capacity on high-demand routes and improve overall network resilience," the airline said.

SpiceJet had a total of 32 aircraft - 28 Boeing 737 and 4 regional jets - in operations while 36 on ground as on December 9, as per aircraft fleet tracking website, planespotter.net.

This is up from 18 aircraft, which were in operations, as on September 30.

"Our focus in the current schedule period is to add several more aircraft, maximise aircraft utilisation and strengthen connectivity through better planning," SpiceJet said. PTI IAS ANU ANU