SpiceJet Limited was formerly incorporated on February 9, 1984 with the name of Royal Airways Limited. The Company changed the name from Royal Airways Limited to SpiceJet Limited on May 4, 2005. The Company is a low cost carrier (LCC), engaged in providing air transport services for carriage of passengers and cargo.
In 1993, the company ventured into domestic aviation operations under technical partnership with Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
In June 1994, the company entered into a management agreement with Lufthansa to manage their entire Airl
SpiceJet Limited was formerly incorporated on February 9, 1984 with the name of Royal Airways Limited. The Company changed the name from Royal Airways Limited to SpiceJet Limited on May 4, 2005. The Company is a low cost carrier (LCC), engaged in providing air transport services for carriage of passengers and cargo.
In 1993, the company ventured into domestic aviation operations under technical partnership with Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
In June 1994, the company entered into a management agreement with Lufthansa to manage their entire Airline operations. The company suspended their Airline operations in the year 1996 after dissensions grew between Lufthansa and the company.
The company started their commercial operations of domestic flight services on May 23, 2005 with three leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft. During the year 2004-05, they signed an agreement with Boeing for acquiring 20 (737-800) aircrafts. In May 5, 2005, they entered into a strategic tie up with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
During the year 2005-06, the company integrated with various travel related website like Indiatimes, makemytrip, travelguru and cleartrip to boost their sales through Internet. They also entered into a sale and lease back agreement with Bacock & Brown Aircraft Management along with its long-term strategic partner Normura Babcock & Brown Co Ltd covering sixteen brand new Boeing 737-800/-900ER aircraft valued at over USD 1.1 billion based on the manufacturer's list prices.
In November 2005, the company launched their daily direct flights between Delhi and Kolkata. They also launched their services to two new spice cities namely, Jammu and Srinagar. In March 27, 2006, the company launched their first co-branded credit card with State Bank of India in association with MasterCard International.
During the year 2006-07, the company inducted five new aircraft to their fleet taking the total fleet strength to eleven aircraft. They started sale of food on board during the year. In August 17, 2006, the company launched SpiceJet Hotels, with the aim of providing a dedicated online Web hotel reservation services to their customers. In October 2006, they launched new flights between Kolkata and Guwahati. In January 2007, they introduced two new additional daily flights on the Bangalore - Mumbai - Hyderabad routes.
During the year 2007-08, the inducted eight new aircraft to there fleet taking the total fleet strength to nineteen aircraft. Out of eight, two were Boeing 737-900, the largest capacity domestic aircraft having seating capacity of 212 passengers. In May 2007, the company made a tie up with Tata AIG General Insurance to cover travel related risks of the airlines' domestic passengers. The insurance cover would be provided for accidental death, emergency medical treatment, trip cancellation, baggage loss, flight delays and trip interruption.
In October 2007, the company signed an agreement with Air India for the wet lease of two of the Company's Boeing 737-800 aircrafts, for operating daily flights between Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur and Nagpur & Jeddah. In January 2008, the company made a tie up with BillDesk, which provides the SpiceJet customers an additional option to purchase and pay for their tickets, through their Internet Banking Accounts Online.
During the year 2016, SpiceJet has placed an order for up to 205 Boeing 737MAX narrow and wide-bodied aircraft valued at over USD 22 billion.During the year 2016, SpiceJet added 10 aircraft to its Boeing 737NG fleet. The Company removed 7 domestic destinations and added few international routes, viz. Amritsar-Dubai, Chennai- Bangkok, Calicut-Dubai, Hyderabad-Dubai, Jaipur-Dubai, Pune-Dubai.
During the financial year under review the Company has incorporated two wholly owned subsidiaries namely SpiceJet Merchandise Private Limited in July 2016 which is engaged in the business of consumer merchandise and goods that includes electronic items, readymade apparels, accessories etc. through various channels viz., in flight sale, online platform, airport shops, retail outlets etc.; and SpiceJet Technic Private Limited in October 2016 which is engaged in engineering related service including but not limited to maintenance, repair and overhaul services of aircraft and its parts.
As at the end of the financial year 2016-17, the Company maintained a fleet size to 49 aircraft with which it operated approximately 316 flights per day covering 39 domestic and 7 international destinations.
During the FY 2017, the Company made an investment of Rs 0.10 million each in equity shares of wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company namely SpiceJet Merchandise Private Limited and SpiceJet Technic Private Limited; and investment of 0.23 million in class B-Shares of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Limited to become member airline for availing advantageous rate on air navigation charges in Thailand. The company also provided loan of 190.33 million to SpiceJet Merchandise Private Limited, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
In FY 2016-17, the Company placed an order of upto 205 (155 firm and 50 option) Boeing 737 MAX aircraft - a clear reflection of the strategic direction in which it is now committed. To strengthen its regional connectivity, the Company has placed order for upto 50 Bombardier Q400 aircraft post completion of current FY 2016-17.
During FY 2016-17, SpiceJet added 10 aircraft to its Boeing fleet and 4 aircraft to its Bombardier fleet. Today it operates 35 B737 family aircraft of which 1 is on wet lease while other are on operating lease; and 20 Q400s of which 13 are on finance lease and 7 on operating lease. During the year under review, the Company could achieve impressive aircraft utilization of over 12 hours per aircraft-day. The Company's initiative towards network optimization, delivering consistent and impressive On-Time-Performance', and providing seamless connectivity to its customers enabled it to achieve sustained monthly passenger load factors of above 90% for 24 months in a row (a feat unparalleled globally).
During the year 2016-17, SpiceJet added new flights and connections with special emphasis on the Northeast. It deployed Q400 fleet to enter new markets and enhance regional connectivity. The new routes introduced include Kolkata-Silchar-Guwahati; Kolkata-Aizawl-Guwahati; Kolkata-Gorakhpur-Delhi; Kolkata-Visakhapatnam-Kolkata; Ahmedabad-Bengaluru-Jaipur; Bengaluru-Guwahati-Goa; Mumbai-Udaipur-Mumbai; Delhi-Surat-Trivandrum; Guwahati-Chennai-Guwahati; Hyderabad-Mangalore-Jaipur; Chennai-Rajahmundry-Trivandrum; Tirupati-Vijayawada-Tirupati; Vijayawada-Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada besides additional frequencies on routes like - Kolkata-Bagdogra and Kolkata-Guwahati. Additionally, it launched a daily Jodhpur-Delhi flight.
During FY 2016-17, the Company launched direct flights on the Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata, Delhi-Bangkok-Delhi and Mangalore-Dubai route.As at the end of the financial year 2017-18, the Company maintained a fleet size to 60 aircraft with which it operated approximately 410 flights per day covering 45 domestic and 7 international destinations.
In FY2017-18, the Company signed an agreement with CFM International for purchase of LEAP-1B engines to power a total of 155 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes, along with spare engines to support the fleet. The Company has also signed a ten-year Rate per Flight Hour (RPFH) agreement with CFM Services that covers all LEAP-1B engines powering 737 MAX airplanes.
During October 2018, the Company inducted first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which is a major milestone in Company's turnaround. These new aircraft will enable the Company to open new routes, while reducing fuel and engineering costs, as well as emissions. The 737 MAX aircraft will dramatically reduce noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Passengers will benefit from a large number of premium seats and, for the first time in India, broadband Internet on board.
As on March 31, 2018, the Company has made an investment of 0.10 million each in equity shares of its wholly owned subsidiaries namely SpiceJet Merchandise Private Limited, SpiceJet Technic Private Limited and Canvin Real Estate Private Limited; and the Company has an investment of 0.24 million in class B-shares of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Limited to become member airline for availing advantageous rate on air navigation charges in Thailand.
As on March 31, 2019, the Company maintained a fleet size of 76 aircraft with which it operated approximately 460 flights per day covering 53 domestic and 9 international destinations. In FY 2019, it launched dedicated air cargo services namely 'SpiceXpress' in September 2018 and inducted its first freighter aircraft at a ceremony held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. It commercialized operations with Guwahati-Hong Kong sector. It on-boarded 6 destinations across the country onto the national aviation map including Adampur, Kanpur, Kishangarh, Pakyong, Lakhimpur and Jharsuguda.
In FY 2020, the Company signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. and Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport, UAE at the Wings India 2020 in Hyderabad. On April 7, 2020, it operated India's first cargo-on-seat flight where it used a passenger aircraft to transport cargo. In addition, the passenger cabin was used to safely carry essential supplies. It launched dedicated freighter services from Chennai and Visakhapatnam to Surat and Kolkata to help shrimp farmers. It transported fresh farm and shrimp produce through its dedicated fleet of freighters and passenger aircraft as well as special cargo flights to various domestic and international destinations. It operated more than 10,564 dedicated cargo flights, including 3,622 international flights in FY 2020-21.
In January 2021, Company provided the much-needed logistical support in terms of transport, storage and distribution. During 2020-21, it introduced wide-body cargo planes for long-haul operations to Europe, Africa and the CIS countries, while also launching scheduled freighter services to Bangkok and Singapore. On the passenger side of operations, it expanded footprint across all markets and introduced new flights to global hotspots including Ras Al Khaimah and Muscat. It became the first and only airline to operate non-stop flights on several routes, Pune-Darbhanga, Pune-Durgapur, Pune-Gwalior, Pune-Jabalpur, Pune-Varanasi, Kolkata-Darbhanga, Chennai-Jharsuguda and Nashik-Kolkata. It increased Chattogram in Bangladesh to international network, Ranchi to domestic network, and Nashik and Darbhanga as UDAN destinations. It was designated as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate flights to the US and UK. As at March 31, 2021, the Company was operating fleet of 20 cargo aircraft including 8 wide-body aircraft. It operated more than 1,616 charter flights to repatriate over 2.48 lakh passengers. Presently, the Company has fleet size of 97 operating across various routes in India and abroad in FY'21.
In 2022, the Company launched exclusive non-stop international flight connecting Pune with Bangkok and Amritsar with Rome and Bergamo in Italy making it the first Indian airline to connect a non-metro city with central Europe.
Carlyle Aviation Partners acquired 7.03% equity stake in the Company in 2023. The Cargo Business Undertaking of the Company was sold to its subsidiary company namely SpiceXpress and Logistics Private Limited as a going concern, on slump sale through the Business Transfer Agreement effective April 1, 2023.
32 new flights launched in FY 2024-25 with 24 new domestic flights in Summer 2025, expanding to new destinations such as Tuticorin, Porbandar, Dehradun, Shivamogga, Prayagraj and Phuket. Company launched Operated special daily flights to Prayagraj from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad during the Maha Kumbh Mela (Jan-Feb 2025).
