SpiceJet to partner with US-based FTAI Aviation to restore its fleet

The partnership with FTAI 'will reduce maintenance expense and minimize aircraft downtime, enhancing the airline's overall performance,' said SpiceJet in a statement.

A SpiceJet passenger aircraft taxis on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai | Reuters

Bengaluru: India’s SpiceJet said on Thursday that FTAI Aviation would lease it up to 20 engines, the first few of which the low-cost carrier would use to reactivate some of its grounded fleet over the next 2-3 months.

The partnership with the U.S.-based engine services provider “will reduce maintenance expense and minimise aircraft downtime, enhancing the airline’s overall performance,” Spicejet said in a statement.

The Gurugram-based airline said last month it had begun to revive 25 of its grounded fleet using its own money and a $50 million line of credit through an Indian government scheme it secured.

SpiceJet had also said there were no plans to file for insolvency, quelling fears of a spillover after rival Go Airlines (India) filed for voluntary bankruptcy.

(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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