SpiceJet settles agreement with aircraft lessor Goshawk Aviation, affiliates

SpiceJet, the budget airline, has entered into a settlement agreement with aircraft lessor Goshawk Aviation Limited and its affiliated leasing entities, namely Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Limited, Sabarmati Aviation Leasing Limited and Falgu Aviation Leasing Limited related to two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and one Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft.

The airline on Tuesday said that the settlement will allow the entry into service of two more fuel-efficient Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into the SpiceJet fleet.

"The parties have agreed to settle all their disputes under and related to the aircraft lease agreements for three aircraft. The agreement, the terms of which are confidential, ends all litigation proceedings between the parties. All proceedings, including before the UK Court and Execution Proceedings before the Delhi High Court will be withdrawn accordingly," said a Spice Jet spokesperson.

Goshawk Aviation Limited is one of the main lessor of MAX aircraft of SpiceJet. The settlement with Goshawk follows SpiceJet's successful settlements with De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited, Credit Suisse, Boeing, CDB Aviation, BOC Aviation and Avolon.

Earlier, SpiceJet had entered into a full and final settlement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and has cleared all outstanding principal dues of the airport operator. With this, SpiceJet will no longer remain on 'cash and carry' at AAI run airports across the country and will revert to advance payment mechanism for daily flight operations.

SpiceJet's domestic network covers the length and breadth of the country with the airline operating to 51 domestic destinations. Pioneer of the regional connectivity scheme, SpiceJet is the country's largest regional player helping connect the remotest parts of the country by air.

The airline's focus on providing direct flight connectivity to regional hubs not only ensures better connectivity, it also has a cascading effect on tourism and economic activity in the region. SpiceJet has added multiple UDAN destinations to the country's aviation map including Pakyong, Jharsuguda, Kandla, Darbhanga, Kanpur, Ajmer (Kishangarh), among others.