Earlier known as Royal Airways, SpiceJet is a reincarnation of ModiLuft, one of India’s first post-deregulation airlines, launched in 1994 and shut down in 1996.
SpiceJet was launched in May, 2005, and is being promoted by Ajay Singh and the Kansagra family.
The goal of the airline is to compete with the Indian Railways air conditioned coaches and, obviously, offer a better deal to its passengers.
SpiceJet aircraft are named after spices.
In 2009, SpiceJet won World Travel Market Award.
By 2008, SpiceJet became India’s second-largest low-cost airline in terms of market share.
In October 2010, after SpiceJet was allowed to commence international flights by the Airports Authority of India, the first international flight took off from the Delhi to Kathmandu, followed by flights from Chennai to Colombo.
In April 2011, SpiceJet chose as the first and primary base for its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, from where it launched flights to Aurangabad, Belgaum, Bhubaneswar, Goa, Indore, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Nasik, Raipur, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, and Vijayawada.
In early 2012, SpiceJet suffered losses as fuel prices were reported to have increased by as high as 90%. The money spent on fuel exceeded well over 50%, spiraling the airline into losses.
In December 2013, SpiceJet launched its first interline agreement with Tigerair. For the moment, interline booking can only be purchased at www.spicejet.com.
For the month of December 2013, as per DGCA statistics, SpiceJet was #1 in on-time performance. On-time performance of scheduled domestic airlines is computed by the DGCA for six metro airports (Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai).
In March 2014, Spicejet signed a deal with Boeing for delivery of 42 737-8 MAX aircraft.
In August 2014, SpiceJet introduced SpiceMAX, a new product that offers customers a lot more comfort and convenience for little more money: SpiceMax seats with with at least 6 inches more legroom compared to standard seats and priority check-in at dedicated SpiceMax counters at major airports. With this product, SpiceJet became the only low-cost airline in India to actually offer greater legroom and comfort in seats that are marketed and sold as “premium” seats under various names. Boeing 737 aircraft will have 30 SpiceMAX seats (first five rows), and Bombardier Q400 aircraft will have 4 SpiceMAX seats (the first row).
In June 2015, SpiceJet unveiled its new logo, with a new tagline – Red. Hot. Spicy. All SpiceJet aircraft are named after an Indian spice.
In 2016, SpiceJet launched SpiceClub, a prepaid cum loyalty card, the first of its kind in Indian aviation industry, wherein members are offered opportunity to save money and also get rewarded while spending with the airline. SpiceJet also opened new premium lounges at Guwahati, Jaipur, and Varanasi airports.
In 2017, SpiceJet placed a firm order for 100 Boeing B737 MAX 8 aircraft, taking its total order to 155 Boeing B737 MAX 8 aircraft. The airline also ordered 25 Bombardier Q400 NG turboprops, with purchase rights for 25 additional aircraft. SpiceJet will be the launch customer for the high-density 90-passengers Bombardier Q400 model. The airline plans to grow its fleet to 200 aircraft by 2020 and expand regionally.
In March 2018, SpiceJet was awarded India’s Best Domestic Airline award at the Wings India Awards for Excellence in the Aviation Sector organized by the Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and FICCI.
No deadly incidents involving SpiceJet aircraft have been recorded so far.
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