Boeing, SpiceJet sign $4.4 bn deal

Boeing and SpiceJet Wednesday inked $4.4 billion (Rs.26,000 crore) deal for 42 aircraft.

The mega deal was signed at the inauguration of India Aviation 2014, country's largest civil aviation event, here.

The first of the 42 737-8 MAX aircraft ordered by SpiceJet will be delivered in 2018, Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told reporters.

Keskar and S.L. Narayanan, Group CFO for The Sun Group, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh. The aircraft will be in service in the world first with Southwest Airlines in 2017.

Keskar said the aircraft, a variant of 737-800, was 14 percent more fuel efficient. "There is also Boeing sky interior which gives pleasing effect, the aircraft has bigger wings and new engine," he said.

"Boeing continues to build fuel efficient and environmentally less carbon emission aeroplanes," he added.

"SpiceJet greatly values the ties we have built over the years with Boeing. The Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, the mainstay of the fleet ever since SpiceJet started operations, have vindicated our choice by their endurance, reliability and cost effectiveness," said Narayanan.

"The induction of Boeing 737 MAX will further modernize our fleet, improve customer experience, and ensure that we operate the most efficient fleet well into the future," he said.

With this announcement, SpiceJet has ordered 90 airplanes directly from Boeing, which includes the 737-800, 737-900ER and now the 737 MAX. SpiceJet has so far taken delivery of 31 of the airplanes.

"The capabilities of the 737 MAX supports SpiceJet's mission to become India's preferred low-cost airline," said Keskar.

737 MAX has accumulated more than 1,800 orders so far and will have 8 percent lower per-seat operating costs than the competition.

"We are always talking to carriers in India," said Keskar when asked if Boeing was expecting more orders. He pointed out that two other airlines in India, Air India and Jet Airways, are operating 737s and said they both have the potential to buy 737 MAX.

"We make MAX 7, MAX 8 and MAX 9, three different variants. All have similar features including lower maintenance cost," he added.