SpiceJet, which has 13 737 MAX planes, faces a delay in the delivery of the remaining 142 of those planes scheduled over the next few years. The airline bet big by investing heavily on the fuel-efficient 737 MAX planes, which also gave a longer range than the traditional 737 planes of Boeing. SpiceJet’s acquisition of the 737 MAX planes has been through sale and lease back model, which is common in the airline business. SpiceJet has inducted about 30 Boeing 737 NG planes that were withdrawn from grounded Jet Airways’ fleet by lessors. “SpiceJet will look to add some additional planes on wet lease and improve utilization of its existing 737 NG/Q400 fleet," ICICI Securities said in a report on the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Source: Mint July 01, 2019 17:15 UTC