SpiceJet orders 205 planes from Boeing in Rs 1.5 lakh crore deal

SpiceJet on Friday announced a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 205 airplanes.

The budget airline, enhanced its existing order of 55 aircraft with additional 100 firm B737-8 MAX and 50 purchase rights for B737-8 MAX and wide-body aircraft. With this, the total order of 205 aircraft is valued at $22 billion (nearly Rs 150,000 crore) at list prices.

The B737 MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market, the carrier said.

Commenting on the deal, Chairman and Managing Director, Ajay Singh, said, "Our turnaround story has been one which has very few parallels in the world today and we are proud of it. SpiceJet has achieved seven consecutive quarters of profit, highest on-time performance and lowest cancellation rates; a record load factor of over 90% every month for 20 months in a row – a feat that has no parallel in aviation history.” 

In 2005, the company had placed its first order with Boeing for Next-Generation B737s and currently operates 32 Next-Generation B737s in its fleet and 17 Bombardier Q400s.

Ray Conner, Vice Chairman, The Boeing Company, said, "We are honored to build upon more than a decade of partnership with SpiceJet with their commitment of up to 205 airplanes. 

Boeing is likely to deliver the jets between 2018-2024 to SpiceJet, Singh said as per Bloomberg report. 

At 1231 hours, the shares of the company were trading at Rs 66 per piece, up 3.29%, or Rs 2.10 on BSE.