DGCA grants SpiceJet permission to wet lease 5 Boeing 737 MAX planes in India

Ahead of the winter schedule India, India's aviation regulator DGCA has granted approval to budget airlines SpiceJet and IndiGo for wet leasing of planes. India's homegrown budget airline SpiceJet has received aviation regulator DGCA's approval for wet leasing five Boeing 737 Max planes for up to six months. The airline has already deployed two of the aircraft on different routes, while three more will be inducted shortly. SpiceJet already has Boeing 737 Max planes in its fleet.

To cater to rising demand in the winter schedule which begins from October 30, SpiceJet and IndiGo have received approval for their proposals to take planes on wet lease. Under wet lease arrangement, planes are leased along with operating crew and engineers. Generally, wet leasing of planes is allowed for short periods to tackle supply constraints and ensure that airfares do not surge significantly.

The approval for taking the planes on wet lease was given by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier this month. Also, IndiGo has received DGCA nod for wet leasing wide-body Boeing 777 planes, which are largely operated on long and ultra long-haul routes, for up to six months.

However, the regulator rejected the airline's proposal to keep them in the fleet for up to two years, saying the move could become diversion of traffic rights in collusion with a strong foreign carrier that will mainly feed the latter's hub abroad with more passengers from India, sources said earlier in the day.

Sources at IndiGo said the airline has written to the civil aviation ministry seeking extended tenure for aircraft that will be taken on wet lease.

With PTI inputs