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Ailing budget airline SpiceJet's new owners are considering a proposal to ground its Bombardiers and return to flying only Boeings.
"A proposal on whether to continue with the Bombardiers is on the table. A decision will be taken soon," a SpiceJet executive said.
SpiceJet has 15 Q4 Bombardier jets used to connect large cities to smaller towns. But many new destinations were unviable because of the costs of operating these aircraft.
SpiceJet owns the Bombardiers and will have to find buyers for the planes.
The executive said SpiceJet owed Rs 350 crore to lessors. A part would be paid once the first tranche of Rs 400 crore was invested into the airline.
The investment due on February 15 has been delayed, awaiting clearance from the Competition Commission of India.
SpiceJet plans to increase its fleet from 19 Boeings to 26 by summer and 33 by the end of the year. "We work with different lessors. Most are helping us through these times. They are willing to lease more planes," the executive added.
SpiceJet's recent offer of 400,000 tickets from Rs 599 has worked well.
