SpiceJet to acquire 30 Boeings for around $2.7 billion
04 Sep 2010
The government has cleared SpiceJet's proposal to acquire 30 Boeing aircraft, worth around $2.7 billion (Rs12,600 crore).
SpiceJet, which currently operates a fleet of 21 aircraft, will induct seven more in the current calendar year as it launches overseas flights. The airline plans to operate around 50 aircraft by 2014.
The empowered committee of the civil aviation ministry has cleared the acquisition of 46 new aircraft, worth a total of over $4.07 billion (Rs19,000 crore), by three low-cost carriers - SpiceJet, IndiGo and Jet Lite.
The new planes will start arriving from November this year, coinciding with US President Barack Obama's state visit to India.
US company Boeing also bagged most of the new orders - 32 aircraft - while its European rival Airbus got 14.
The government's green light to SpiceJet comes nearly six months after the government gave in-principle approval to rival IndiGo to buy 150 new aircraft, at an estimated cost of around $14 billion (Rs65,000 crore).
