SpiceJet considering future long-haul operations using widebodied aircraft – CEO

Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet is considering expanding into the long-haul arena for which it would acquire widebody aircraft, according to the company’s CEO. Speaking to an audience of industry professionals at the Aviation Festival Asia 2025 conference in Singapore held between February 18 and 19, 2025, Ajay Singh stated that the airline would look at expanding further afield while the carrier continues to restore its financial position following several difficult years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Giving his address, Singh stated that given the unprecedented levels of rising demand for air travel across India since the pandemic, SpiceJet will eventually need to look at widebody long-haul operations, as its competitors are already marching ahead with their own plans for international long-haul expansion. “We are discussing with major manufacturers, and we are discussing widebody orders with them as well. We need to be prepared for that, and we are certainly looking at that,” Singh added.  

Singh’s comments come as the world’s largest platemakers are filling their order books with orders from other Indian carriers. In 2023, the Tata Group-owned flag carrier Air India placed orders for large numbers of new widebodied aircraft which will include Boeing 777s, 787s, and the Airbus A350-900. In 2024, privately owned IndiGo joined the rush to expand in the long-haul arena with an order for 30 Airbus A350s. Even smaller rival Akasa Air, although yet to place orders for any widebodied jets, is already seeing some success operating longer international routes from India.

Singh added to his comments by reminding his audience that SpiceJet has already had some, albeit limited, experience operating widebodied long-haul flights. During the pandemic, the airline leased several Airbus A330s for repatriation flights, bringing Indian nationals home from countries most affected by COVID-19.

Shaifuzzaman Ayon / Wikimedia CommonsThe carrier’s fortunes have recovered well in the past two years. Beleaguered by the pandemic with passenger numbers slashed, SpiceJet had several aircraft repossessed by lessors and entered talks with others to renegotiate lease terms. Then in 2024, SpiceJet went through several rounds of fundraising to settle its debts and return grounded aircraft to service. 

Seemingly with a corner turned, the airline is now looking ahead and into ways to keep up with both its main rivals as well as the soaring consumer demand for air travel by those in India. In late January 2025, the airline started re-introducing its previously grounded fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft back into active service.

The fleet had been grounded for several months toward the end of 2024 following maintenance issues and the lack of engineering support for the type’s CFM LEAP-1B engines. According to the airline, the development “marked a significant milestone in the airline’s fleet restoration and operational enhancement efforts.” Under its ongoing fleet restoration plan, the airline aims to bring back a total of ten grounded aircraft, which includes the three Boeing 737 MAX planes, back into service by mid-April 2025.

BoeingMan777
/ ShutterstockThe restructuring aligns with SpiceJet’s fleet restoration strategy which has seen rapid progress since the carrier resolved outstanding legal disputes with multiple aircraft leasing firms including Export Development Canada, Engine Lease Finance Corporation, Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management, Aircastle (Ireland), Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Limited, Shannon Engine Support Limited and Genesis.

The 737 MAX’s return to service is seen as an essential strategic development for the airline, which will allow it to operate in “high-demand markets” like Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia “without any operational restrictions”. The return of the MAX planes will also assist the airline in accelerating international expansion plans as the carrier tries to keep up with its competitors as India’s population increasingly takes to the air.    

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