SpiceJet Expands Network with Q400 Arrival

Indian carrier SpiceJet is set to introduce flights to an additional eleven destinations from late September or early October as it launches scheduled operations with its new Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprops. The airline has recently taken delivery of the first of 15 aircraft that it ordered in December 2010 and will initially introduce these to boost frequencies on some existing domestic routes and to further expand its network within India operating on high-frequency, point-to-point services to regional cities.

“As India experiences substantial growth, many cities and industrial towns remain underserved,” said Kalanithi Maran, Chairman, SpiceJet. “SpiceJet is focused on connecting these burgeoning areas with more than 60 airports that could not be served by larger jets.” The airline currently serves 22 destinations in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka using a mix of Boeing 737-800 and -900ER variants.

The turboprops may initially be used on some training flights but are tentatively planned to enter schedule service from September 21 mainly on flights from Hyderabad. From that date the aircraft will enable a second daily service to Bangalore to be introduced, new daily links to Goa and Madurai to begin as well as the addition of up to 13 flights per week to Tirupati. At the same time a weekly service to Vizag/Visakhapatnam will be introduced, increasing to daily the subsequent week, to facilitate a daily Vizag/Visakhapatnam – Bangalore link.

From September 28 new daily flights from Hyderabad to Nagpur and Pune will be inaugurated as well as a twice daily service to Vijayawada, while over the following days, daily flights to Rajahmundry and Mangalore will also start and Aurangabad will see the introduction of a second daily frequency. At the start of October a daily service will also be offered to Indore and Bhopal on a triangle route, with four flights routing via Indore and three via Bhopal.

An estimated 49.3 million O&D passengers travelled on domestic flights within India in the past year, up 20.2 per cent on the previous 12 month period, making it one of the fastest growing markets in the world. As the table below illustrates, SpiceJet is currently the fourth largest carrier in the country by demand carrying around 7.6 million passengers during the period, giving it a 15.3 per cent share of the market.

NOTE: Jet Airways’ total excludes JetLite’s ’S2’ flights, while Air India’s excludes ‘IX’ Air India Express low-cost services.

However, it is one of the strongest carriers at Hyderabad and the planned expansion of its network will enable it to further develop its presence in the city.