How loss-making SpiceJet is staying aloft

Today SpiceJet is a shadow of what it was in the past. While it remains a mystery to many how SpiceJet has survived despite so many challenges, the airline has returned to expansion. He was declared missing recently ₹635.42 crore ( ₹447.7 crore loss (excluding FX loss) in FY2Q-26. In comparison, losses were recorded at IndiGo, which is 12 times larger than SpiceJet. ₹2,582 crore in Q2-FY26.

The airline later made announcements about adding more narrow-body aircraft to its fleet and reactivating its own MAX 8. The airline added flights to multiple routes across the country, growing its active fleet by 15 aircraft in 30 days, with 14 wet/moist leases and one aircraft of its own. The number of active aircraft is currently 35, of which 28 are 737s (NG and MAX) and seven are Q400s. The airline had announced plans to retire many more Q400s in the last three quarters, but there has been almost no progress on the ground, with supply chain issues being blamed.

The airline, which aims to operate 250 daily flights next month, 2.5 times the figure in September, was able to compete with Akasa Air again for market share after capturing only 2% of the domestic market in the last few months.

Where is the airline expanding?

According to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, the growth is happening in Delhi and Mumbai, with plans to grow 2.5 times in terms of flights and three times in terms of capacity (with ASK). The airline will offer 276 weekly flights from Delhi and 185 from Mumbai in December, compared to 144 and 68 respectively in September.

This is followed by Chennai (32 for 107), Kolkata (29 for 102) and Ahmedabad (15 for 65). It was once down to just two international destinations, Dubai and Bangkok, and the airline has since introduced flights to Kathmandu and Phuket, as well as flights under special arrangement to the Najaf and Fujairah for a temporary period.

Dubai – the heart of the SpiceJet network

With the dedication of its legacy to SpiceJet, Dubai remained the crown jewel of SpiceJet’s network and helped it survive the odds. Before water chartered planes started arriving and SpiceJet’s flight count dropped to 100, Dubai was the second largest station on the network after Delhi, with 74 weekly flights. Mumbai, the country’s commercial capital and an airport facing slot shortages, came in third. Although the additional seat allocation prevents the company from launching more flights, increased capacity growth across its network still sees Dubai as the airline’s fifth-largest station. It connects Dubai to nine destinations in India, while it has 13 destinations with IndiGo, five with Air India and 11 with Air India Express.

The focus on Dubai as part of its network is immense as SpiceJet’s skeleton international schedule accounts for 19.8% of its total network as per ASK and 9.6% of total seats offered. In comparison, 19.51% of IndiGo’s ASKs (Available Seat Kilometers) are deployed on international routes, while 7.4% of its seats are on international routes. IndiGo is miles ahead of SpiceJet in absolute numbers; All parameters like Departures, Seats and ASKs are at least 10 times more than SpiceJet.

Finances still remain an issue

SpiceJet’s auditor again draws attention to accumulated losses ₹8,637.9 crore and current liabilities exceed current assets ₹4,277.3 crore as of September 30, 2025, casting “significant doubt” on the company’s ability to continue its operations; It’s a statement the airline has included in auditor notes as far as it can remember. Negative net worth as of end-September ₹2,801.9 crore. For comparison, in December 2014, when the airline was on the verge of closure, its negative net worth was: ₹630 crore.

Tail Note

The airline has put a typically gas-guzzling A340-300 into service and opened bookings for flights to Bangkok between 10 October and 5 November. Within days, the airline reduced capacity and deployed it to Dubai, which again became Bangkok. The plane has been waiting at Dubai World Central Airport (DWC) for the last few days.

Attracting well-known talents like Sanjay Kumar as Executive Director may help run the business, but fleet problems won’t be solved without money. Due to the equal or greater number of wet or damp leased aircraft than own or self-leased aircraft, the cost of operating them is higher and the airline will have to rely on frequent leases and returns to accommodate business cycles in India, where the 1st and 3rd quarters of the financial year are stronger but not consecutive months, aircraft will need to be in and out of the country.

The ultimate reality is cash flow for any business, and even more so for an airline. The addition of planes will help the airline with revenue and market share, but the ability to generate excess cash from the business will also help the company meet its obligations and invest in growth. Will he break this jinx or will it be more of the same?