SpiceJet, perhaps the biggest gainer from the collapse of Jet Airways, has announced the addition of 19 new flights – six each from New Delhi and Mumbai - to other destinations beginning tomorrow (4 May).
This is the fourth time the no-frill carrier SpiceJet has been expanding its network in less than a month, particularly since the grounding of Jet Airways last month.
In a statement issued on Thursday, SpiceJet said it would deploy Boeing 737 NG aircraft on these routes, adding that the new services from Mumbai will be operated from Terminal 2.
All the new flights will be operated all days, except the services on the Mumbai-Kochi-Mumbai sector, which will be operational all days except Tuesdays, the airline said.
As part of this latest route expansion, SpiceJet will provide connectivity to Madurai from Mumbai with a direct daily flight, the first by any domestic low-cost airline, the release said.
Besides, the airline has also introduced new flights on the Mumbai-Jammu (via Srinagar), Mumbai-Dehradun-Mumbai and Mumbai-Guwahati-Mumbai sectors.
It also said the operations on the Mumbai-Srinagar, Mumbai-Coimbatore-Mumbai, Mumbai-Kochi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Jaipur-Mumbai are being scaled up by adding a second direct flight on these routes.
Additionally, the airline has also enhanced operations on Srinagar-Jammu route with a third frequency and on Mumbai- Chennai-Mumbai route with an additional fourth flight.
With the new flights, its connectivity to Madurai, Jammu, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Jaipur and Guwahati with Mumbai will improve considerably, the airline added.
"We are taking all measures to deal with the shortage of capacity in the market. With these new and additional flights, we aim to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers due to the ongoing crisis in the industry," said Shilpa Bhatia, chief sales and revenue officer.
Since April, SpiceJet has introduced 77 new flights, including 48 flights connecting Mumbai, 16 connecting Delhi and eight between Mumbai and Delhi, as it seeks to fill the capacity deficit due to the shuttering of Jet Airways mid last month.
SpiceJet has also announced more international flights, including services to Hong Kong, Jeddah, Dubai, Colombo, Dhaka, Riyadh, and Kathmandu from Mumbai.