Spicejet is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, India. It is the fourth largest airline in the country by the number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 13.3% as of October 2017. The airline operates 312 daily flights to 55 destinations, including 47 Indian and 7 international destinations from its hubs at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
Established as air taxi provider Modiluft in 1994, the company was acquired by Indian entrepreneur Ajay Singh in 2004 and re-christened as Spicejet. The airline operated its first flight in May 2005. Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired a controlling stake in Spicejet in June 2010 through sun group which was sold back to Ajay Singh in January 2015. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737 and bombardier dash aircraft.
Indigo is a low-cost airline headquartered at Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest airline in India by passengers' carried and fleet size, with a 41.3% domestic market share as of June 2018. It is also the largest individual Asian low-cost carrier in terms of jet fleet size and passengers carried, and the seventh largest carrier in Asia with over 46 million passengers carried in 2017. The airline operates to 57 destinations both domestic and international. It has its primary hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
The airline was founded as a private company by Rahul Bhatia of Interglobe enterprises and Rakesh Gangwal, a united states-based expatriate Indian in 2006. It took delivery of its first aircraft in July 2006 and commenced operations a month later. The airline became the largest Indian carrier in passenger market share in 2012. The company went public in November 2015.
If a passenger is doing a check in at an airport they will not have to pay up. Indigo's lowest seat fee is Rs 100 and Spicejet's Rs 99. Such charges will help to boost ancillary revenue of the airlines, according to a report in a business standard. Ancillary revenue consists of charges like baggage fees, seat selection fees, cancellation charges.
Passengers have been sharing their disappointment with the airlines on social media. Indigos and Spicejet decision comes at a time when airlines are struggling with rising costs but cannot afford to raise ticket fares due to competition.
In June this year indigo, go air and Spicejet increased baggage charges beyond the standard limit of 15 kilograms. Earlier the budget carrier charged only for particular types of seats like a window or aisle seat or seat having extra legroom when passenger opted for online selection.
