Red. Hot. Spicy.

Tag: Airline

FROM THE CMD’S DESK

Dear Readers, Welcome aboard SpiceJet! Few things unite Indians as much as their love for cricket, and the men and women in blue. Fans of the game are all set…

Dear Readers,

Welcome aboard SpiceJet!

Few things unite Indians as much as their love for cricket, and the men and women in blue.

Fans of the game are all set to cheer cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has been shortlisted as one of the 20 contenders for the greatest Laureus Sporting Moment 2000-2020 Awards. Sachin’s moment — titled ‘Carried on the Shoulders of a Nation’ — refers to India’s 2011 World Cup victory when the Little Master was carried on the shoulders of his teammates during a tearful lap of honour in Mumbai at Wankhede Stadium. The 20th anniversary of the Laureus World Sports Awards with the message ‘Sport Unites Us’ will be held in Berlin on February 17.

India, which has a rich tradition of uniting people through sports, is aiming for many Sporting Moments in the global arena. To this end, on January 31, 2018, the Government of India launched ‘Khelo India’, a nationwide programme for development of sports and fitness. The programme aims to revive sports culture at the grassroots level and establish India as a great sporting nation.

Being a sports enthusiast, I am keen to see our nation transform into a sporting powerhouse in the coming years. It was, therefore, a moment of pride and honour for me that SpiceJet teamed up with the Sports Authority of India to provide an exclusive flying experience to over 1,000 athletes at the third edition of the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games held in Guwahati last month. It was a moment of great delight for me to meet the young female judo team from Kashmir travelling for the Games in Guwahati. I wish them and all the very talented kids participating in the Games the very best in life.

Apart from sports, SpiceJet is actively involved in other initiatives to bring a positive change in society and improve the quality of life of underprivileged individuals. With Delhi recording its coldest winter on December 30, 2019, in over a century, SpiceJet reached out to the homeless in the nation’s capital. We installed a porta cabin for the homeless in Sarai Kale Khan. We also donated blankets, heat convectors, woolen caps and medicines. Everyone at SpiceJet was glad to have had the opportunity to contribute and help the less privileged.

Year 2020 got off to a flying start for the aviation industry in general and SpiceJet in particular. The government’s decision to discontinue the levy of the Fuel Throughput Charge at airports, airstrips and heliports came as a big relief for airlines. With aviation fuel comprising nearly 50% of the operating costs, India is one of the costliest aviation markets in the world. This is a welcome step.

SpiceJet is well on course to achieve its growth plans. Before I take you through the operational side, I am happy to inform to inform you that I attended the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland. It was an exhilarating experience engaging with world leaders and heads of businesses on some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda.

We launched two new international and ten new domestic flights. We introduced a flight on the Ahmedabad-Jeddah-Ahmedabad route and became the first Indian airline to offer direct flights between the two cities. In our ongoing efforts to enhance connectivity between metros and non-metros, we announced Ahmedabad-Aurangabad flights, which will ease air travel for our regular flyers and attract new passengers.
Besides, we also introduced additional frequencies on the Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai (second), BengaluruChennai-Bengaluru (sixth), and Bengaluru-VijayawadaBengaluru (fourth) sectors due to growing demand from both tourists and business travellers.

Today, our airline operates 630 average daily flights to 64 destinations, including 54 domestic and 10 international. We have ruled the domestic skies by recording a load factor of over 90% for 56 successive months, a testimony to SpiceJet’s popularity among all classes of flyers.

Going forward, we will continue to make your flights safer and memorable, and ensure that you continue to enjoy a ‘Red. Hot. Spicy’ experience every time you fly SpiceJet.

Tailwinds and Happy Landings!
Jai Hind!

14,236 Comments on FROM THE CMD’S DESK

From The CMD’s Desk- December 2019

Dear Readers, Welcome aboard SpiceJet! Last month, India played its first-ever day-night Test match — against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens — with a pink ball. It was the ninth…

Dear Readers,

Welcome aboard SpiceJet!

Last month, India played its first-ever day-night Test match — against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens — with a pink ball. It was the ninth cricket-playing nation to do so. Commenting on the historic match, the newly-elected BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said, “India is the biggest country in terms of cricket and the five-day cricket format needed rejuvenation.” Being an ardent fan of cricket myself, I couldn’t agree more with Dada.

Since I am also an aviation enthusiast, I believe, we need a rejuvenation of brand ‘Aviation India’ to fast emerge as a global aviation power.

We, at SpiceJet, have been working relentlessly to realise that goal year after year. Daring to dream big and leaping forward to make those dreams come true led to an eventful 2019 — a year of unprecedented growth for SpiceJet.

As part of our global expansion, we introduced 22 non-stop flights on international routes to Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Dhaka, Riyadh and Jeddah, among others. We have partnered with Emirates for interline and codeshare agreement and have signed a MoU with Gulf Air. We also signed a distribution agreement with Amadeus.

The pact with Emirates offers wider connectivity to our customers on the latter’s network across the US, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Our agreement with Gulf Air will create growth opportunities beyond network expansion, such as leveraging each other’s strengths in pilot training, and enhancing cargo and engineering services.

Back home, we relentlessly scaled up domestic connectivity. In the wake of the crisis in the aviation sector, which resulted in a severe capacity crunch across busy airports, SpiceJet made every effort to restore normalcy and minimise passenger inconvenience. We launched close to 164 flights connecting Mumbai and Delhi, besides multiple other domestic and international destinations.

The year also witnessed an important milestone in SpiceJet’s history — the induction of our 100th aircraft, a Boeing 737 — into the fleet. In November 2019, our fleet size stood at 118, operating 630 average daily flights to 64 destinations — 54 domestic and 10 international.

We launched 24 new flights under UDAN or the regional connectivity scheme, connecting smaller towns and cities with the rest of the country. We also consolidated our operations by switching from T1 to T2 at Mumbai Airport and from T2 to T3 at Delhi Airport, thus offering a smooth and hassle-free travel experience for our passengers.

The year was also eventful for SpiceJet in other ways

I had the opportunity to draw global attention to Indian aviation at the World Economic Forum at Davos and the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York. I also had the privilege of chairing WEF’s Aviation, Travel and Tourism Governor’s Meeting and was appointed to the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association. This was an honour for SpiceJet and Indian aviation, as it came less than three months after we joined the global group. I was also honoured to receive, on behalf of SpiceJet, the ‘Airline Executive of the Year’ at CAPA’s 16th annual ‘Asia Pacific Aviation Awards for Excellence’.

I take this opportunity to reiterate that all these accolades and recognitions belong to every SpiceJetter, who has been working tirelessly to rebuild an airline that is admired across the world.

Year 2019 has been truly special and 2020 will be no less. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your unflinching support on our exciting journey.

On behalf of the entire SpiceJet family, I wish you happy holidays and a joyous Christmas and New Year!

Tailwinds and Happy Landings! Jai Hind!

15,512 Comments on From The CMD’s Desk- December 2019

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