Shares of budget carrier SpiceJet surged over 2 percent following the news of its acquisition of a Q400 aircraft from Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) as part of a settlement agreement reached last year.
The agreement, which settles all past liabilities for the Q400s leased by NAC to SpiceJet, grants the airline full ownership of six Q400s. SpiceJet already possessed five Q400 aircraft previously owned by NAC, with ownership of these planes now transferred to SpiceJet. The airline announced this development in a stock exchange filing on April 2, highlighting that the agreement would lead to significant long-term savings by freeing the airline from regular monthly rentals for these aircraft. The sixth Q400 aircraft is currently en route to India from Germany and is anticipated to arrive in Delhi shortly.
SpiceJet’s shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) were trading 2 percent higher at Rs 62.85 apiece on Tuesday at 10:55 hours.
The arrival of the Q400 aircraft aligns with the upcoming summer schedule, enabling SpiceJet to offer seamless connectivity and enhanced services to passengers during peak travel seasons.
Recently, SpiceJet announced four major settlements with key aircraft lessors, resulting in substantial savings of Rs 1,252 crore for the airline.
On March 26, SpiceJet finalized a settlement with Export Development Canada (EDC), securing full ownership of 13 EDC-financed Q400 aircraft and resolving liabilities totaling nearly $91 million, as per SpiceJet’s records, resulting in savings of Rs 567 crore for the airline. Additionally, SpiceJet concluded three other significant agreements with aircraft leasing firms, Cross Ocean Partners and AerCap, resulting in collective savings of Rs 685 Crore for the airline. These settlements also involved the acquisition of three Boeing aircraft by SpiceJet.
