SpiceJet Enters Settlement Agreement with Boeing over 737 MAX Aircraft Deal
Nov. 17—Budget airline SpiceJet said today that the US planemaker Boeing had agreed to settle the outstanding claims related to the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft.
"The Company is pleased to announce that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Boeing wherein Boeing has agreed to provide certain accommodations and settle the outstanding claims related to the grounding of 737 MAX aircraft and its return to service," said in a regulatory filing.
"This paves the way for the induction of efficient and younger MAX aircraft into the Company's fleet and ensures the resumption of new aircraft deliveries from our order of 155 MAX aircraft," added the statement further.
The settlement will allow the resumption of new aircraft deliveries from SpiceJet's order of 155 MAX aircraft, the airline said, adding that it will also pave the way for inducing "efficient and younger MAX aircraft" into its fleet.
SpiceJet is Boeing's biggest customer in the South Asian nation for the MAX planes.
India's air safety regulator had cleared in August the 737 MAX aircraft to fly after a near two-and-a-half-year regulatory grounding following two fatal crashes in 2019.
Meanwhile, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed new airline Akasa Air has ordered 72 '737 Max' aircraft from US-based aerospace company Boeing to launch service in India, a statement said on Tuesday.
" Akasa Air's order includes two variants from the 737 Max family, including the 737-8 and the high-capacity 737-8-200," the joint statement by Akasa Air and Boeing mentioned.
The order, valued at "nearly USD 9 billion at list prices", was signed at Dubai Air Show 2021 on Tuesday, it stated.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had last month given a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the operation of Akasa Air in India.
kasa Air is backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, former IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh and former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube.
"We are delighted to partner with Boeing for our first airplane order and thank them for their trust and confidence in Akasa Air's business plan and leadership team," Dube, who is now the CEO of Akasa Air, was quoted as saying in the statement.
He said the new 737 Max airplane will support the the carrier's aim of running not just a cost-efficient, reliable and affordable airline, but also an environmentally friendly company with the youngest and greenest fleet in the Indian skies.
___
(c)2021 the Mint (New Delhi)
Visit the Mint (New Delhi) at www.livemint.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
