Spicejet planning on international routes from next year

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet, promoted by a group of investors led by the Kansagra family and Delhi-based Ajay Singh, is working on a plan to start international operations next year, making it the third private Indian carrier after Jet Airways and Kingfisher to fly overseas. The airline qualifies for international operations from June next year after it completes five years of domestic operations, the minimum stipulated by the government. The airline plans to fly mainly to Saarc countries, south-east Asia and select west Asian routes rather than long-haul routes, such as London and New York as Jet and Kingfisher have done.

"We are planning our international launch carefully and will fly only on routes that we think are under-served or have potential for more flights," said Sanjay Agarwal, chief executive officer, SpiceJet. Agarwal explained that the airline would start operations in sectors in which SpiceJet’s Boeing 737 fleet can fly. On competition from low-cost carriers in West Asia like Flydubai and Air Arabia Aggarwal conceded that while the competition is tough, their strategy would be to service markets that are still under-served from India. These routes could include Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia. Aggarwal also pointed out that routes like Mumbai-Kathmandu, Chennai-Singapore are still viable and provide potential for growth.