It has been quite a turnaround for SpiceJet. In December 2014 the low-cost Indian airline was on the brink of collapse following five consecutive years in the red (culminating in an annual loss of $159m - £122m - for that year). It was even forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights because it hadn’t paid its bills and oil companies were refusing refuel its planes.

Since that nadir, however, it’s stock has risen more than 800 per cent, giving it a market value of $1.2 billion (£0.9bn). According to Bloomberg, no airline on the planet is performing so strongly. And this week, after it had announced an order for 100 Boeing aircraft, SpiceJet earned praise from none other than Donald Trump, who thanked it for safeguarding US jobs.

So what went right?

Bloomberg highlighted the good work of “white knight” chairman Ajay Singh for “cutting loss-making routes and aggressively adding capacity in one of the world’s fastest growing markets”.

The fact that oil prices have remained low for the last few years has helped, of course. Indeed, airlines around the world have never had it so good. Ryanair recently announced a pre-tax annual profit of €1.3bn (£1.1bn). Even the parent company of British Airways, IAG, recorded operating profits of €170m (£144.6m) for the first three months of 2017 – and that’s despite a succession of controversies for the UK airline.

How big is SpiceJet now?

It’s still relatively small, with a fleet of just over 50 aircraft, mostly Boeing 737-700s, 737-800s (the model favoured by Ryanair), and 737 MAX 8s, but with a few smaller Bombardier Dash 8s thrown in for good measure. It handled around 14 million last year, up from 11.7 million in 2015.

That’s small fry compared to the world’s biggest low-cost airlines.

But it’s growing fast

The fresh order for 100 Boeing jets that had Trump purring means SpiceJet is now waiting on 142 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The first will be delivered next summer. So expect the carrier to be a fixture for some time yet.

SpiceJet is now waiting on 142 Boeing 737 MAX 8s

The potential for growth in India really is staggering. The country’s population stands at at more than 1.32 billion, and it is projected to overtake China (which has 1.38 billion residents) by 2022. Airlines have been rushing to cater to its growing middle class, and a clutch of carriers have been established in the last decade or so (many more launched but have since failed). The most successful has been IndiGo, which in 11 years has gone from start-up to low-cost behemoth, with 138 jets, 46 destinations and more than 41 million annual passengers. But there are others that will have you scratching your head.

Where does SpiceJet fly?

If you’ve never heard of SpiceJet, it’s probably because their route map doesn’t extend far beyond India. They send planes to 39 domestic airports (including Ahmedabad, Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Chennai, Varanasi and Kolkata - just about everywhere, really), but only a few international ones (such as Dhaka, Malé, Muscat, Colombo, Bangkok and Dubai).

You can fly to Udaipur with SpiceJet Credit: © 2012 Dmitry Rukhlenko/Dmitry Rukhlenko

So is it any good?

The Telegraph’s Caroline Leaper described it as the “easyJet of India”.

“We flew with SpiceJet on two occasions in March, travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi and then from Varanasi to Hyderabad as part of a two-week trip around India,” she added. “It was as cheap, easy to book, and clean as any of the big budget airlines in Europe - but perhaps with better service.”

Skytrax, which ranks airlines and airports around the world based on traveller reviews, reckons it’s only the 20th best low-cost carrier on the planet, however, with an average customer rating of 5/10.

The best low-cost carriers, according to Skytrax

AirAsia Norwegian jetBlue Airways easyJet Virgin America Jetstar Airways AirAsiaX Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras Southwest Airlines Indigo WestJet Scoot Jetstar Asia Eurowings Ryanair Vueling Airlines Tigerair Peach Air Canada rouge SpiceJet

What else can you tell me?

Its company slogans are “Flying for everyone” and (presumably for adverts that air after the watershed) “Red. Hot. Spicy”.

Its headquarters are in Gurgaon, 20 miles south of New Delhi. It’s a rapidly expanding city with the third highest per capita income in India.

Yoga at 35,000 ft.? It’s possible with SpiceMax - the best seat in the sky! Book SpiceMax & get room for Yoga. #InternationalDayOfYoga pic.twitter.com/ywbRmzeyqk — SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) June 21, 2017

While it is a low-cost airline, passenger can opt for “SpiceMax”, whereby they pay a little extra for more legroom and a meal. There is no in-flight entertainment on board, however.

Its food gets a rating of 8.4 on the website In-flight Feed. It even offers cakes for those celebrating a special occasion.







