Indian carrier SpiceJet on May 31, 2012 said that it hopes to take delivery of the first shipment of directly imported aviation fuel by early July. The airline will become the first Indian airline to be able to directly import jet fuel.
Neil Mills, the chief executive of SpiceJet, “We will be the first carrier to import ATF directly, as we hope to take the delivery of the first shipment early July”. The director general of foreign trade, the apex government authority on exports on April 18, allowed the airline to import aviation fuel directly.
The airline has become the first in India to get such an approval. The government has allowed the airline directly import jet fuel, as a measure to help them cover their losses.
Mills added that with the recent approval it hopes to save greatly on the fuel costs. SpiceJet saw its fuel bills shooting up to 55 percent in the last quarter of the past fiscal, for the full fiscal of the year 2012. However, the airline has refused to reveal the name, with whom they have tied up for ATF transport, logistics and storage facilities. But it was revealed that they have tied up with a private company.
