SpiceJet will look for options if 737 Max issue isn’t resolved: CFO Kiran Koteshwar

MUMBAI: SpiceJet Ltd, whose 13 Boeing Co. 737 Max aircraft are grounded since March after fatal crashes involving the aircraft in two separate occasions, is considering placing order of different aircraft if the situation doesn’t resolve in near future, the airline’s chief financial officer Kiran Koteshwar said.

SpiceJet, one of the world’s biggest customers for the MAX 8 has orders for 155 aircraft with purchase rights for 50 additional MAX 8 and wide-body aircraft. The airline has taken delivery of 13 737 MAX 8 planes, considered to be more fuel-efficient than its predecessors. All those planes currently stand grounded.

While Boeing has informed SpiceJet that deliveries of the remaining planes will take place from October-December, this looks unlikely as reports indicate that the grounding could stretch at least till early next year.