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SpiceJet, India's latest low-cost air carrier, which commenced operations in Ahmedabad on May 23, aims to become the largest airline operating from the city. It plans to add a third service to Delhi from June 13 and a daily flight to Bangalore from June 14.
With these additions, SpiceJet will be the largest airline operating out of Ahmedabad with six daily departures and over 2200 daily seats on offer.
"Ahmedabad is among the premier industrial hubs in India and it is a very strategic market for us. We plan to introduce multiple flights linking the city with rest of the country," said Ajay Singh, director, Spice Jet.
The company aims to remain competitive with its pricing and focus on paring costs through operational efficiencies. "In a price sensitive market, we can win customer confidence only by reducing prices without compromising on quality and reliability. We are confident that our low fares will create a new segment of air travellers. We promise to redefine the concept of value flying in India," Singh said.
SpiceJet sold 37,348 tickets on the first day of the opening of bookings on May 17. The SpiceJet website received in excess of 5.4 million hits on the first day.
This is the largest number of tickets sold by any airline in Asia on the first day of bookings.
The company introduced Red Hot Special Fares, ranging from Rs 99 to Rs 799, as well as regular fares, ranging from Rs 699 to Rs 6999.
"We have received a great response. We sold over 37,300 seats on the very first day of bookings. Our lowest regular fares are close to the AC 3 Tier train fares and our highest fares are 40-45 per cent less then the normal economy fares of other airlines," said Singh.
SpiceJet aims to break even in the second quarter of its operations and turn profitable by the end of first year.
The company plans to acquire at least four aircraft by the end of the year. It expects to have a fleet of 10 aircraft by the end of its first year of operations. SpiceJet has placed orders for 20 Boeing 737-800s -- the first of these is expected to be delivered by January 2006.
"We expect to position ourselves as a quality airline in the low-fare space. With new generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft, cutting edge technology and professional management, we expect to deliver comfortable and consistent on-time performance," said Singh.
The company does not plan any public issue. However, it will issue $90 million foreign currency convertible bonds in June to fund its fleet expansion.
