Indian budget carrier SpiceJet could turn away from Boeing and purchase 100 or more jets from rival Airbus.
SpiceJet is India’s sole Boeing Max customer and was forced to lease more planes due to the global grounding of Max jets which has now exceeded six months.
Speaking to Bloomberg, CEO Ajay Sing said Airbus had ‘pushed us hard since the day we started flying Boeing aircraft, and of course with the current problems, they’ve pushed us harder.’
"They have made us a commercial offer and we are evaluating it."
SpiceJet has 13 Max jets currently standing idle and has a commitment to buy more than 200 more.
A defection to Airbus would be a major blow for embattled Boeing.
"Any aircraft order that SpiceJet places would at least be 100 aircraft," Singh said.
According to Singh Boeing expects US regulators to recertify the Max jet by November, but India’s regulator expects to conduct its own assessments which could take much longer, and would likely not be before the end of the year.
"You need to keep evaluating, and we are evaluating the Airbus options. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do — our entire infrastructure is geared for a Boeing fleet — but if this takes too long, we may not have too much of a choice," Singh added.
