US aircraft major Boeing on Friday said there is no change in status in crisis-ridden SpiceJet's contract with it to acquire 42 Boeing 737 Max worth $4.4 billion but hoped that ‘short-term turbulence’ in the market ends soon.
Underlining that it wants to see its customers healthy, Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar said, "We want to be responsive to our customer's requirements. All I am saying is that there is no change in status".
He was replying to a question if the order with Boeing still stands as the company battles huge losses and debt.
He said that Boeing tries everything to contribute to the customer's success and the best way is by delivering fuel efficient and reliable aircraft.
He said Boeing was not worried about the turbulence in the Indian aviation sector and pointed out that projections are very positive.
"We are hoping that the short-term turbulence settles down," he said addressing a press conference.
SpiceJet had last year announced a $4.4 billion deal for 42 Boeing 737 Max.
In the middle of an ownership change, budget airline SpiceJet on Thursday reported a steep 59 per cent rise in its third-quarter net loss at Rs 275 crore (Rs 2.75 billion) on lower passenger numbers and a one-time cost of Rs 295 crore (Rs 2.95 billion).
The cash-strapped airline was forced to ground flights for some days during the quarter after its vendors refused to offer credit.
This resulted in the airline witnessing a 31 per cent decline in capacity, while revenue fell 27 per cent to Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion), from Rs 1,769 crore (Rs 17.69 billion) in the year-ago quarter.
The net loss has widened from Rs 173 crore (Rs 1.73 billion) during the September-December 2013 quarter, said the airline whose co-founder Ajay Singh has returned as its promoter after buying stake from the Maran family.
Meanwhile, Kumar said Boeing is committed to strengthen strategic partnerships with customers, the government, industry and academia aimed to support India's expanding aerospace industry.
"With India poised to become the fastest growing, among large economies in the world, Boeing is proud to be a reliable partner for sustaining this projected growth", he said,
He claimed that Boing was focusing its efforts to support the Prime Minister's 'Make in India' initiative by developing a competitive supplier base in country that is fully integrated into Boeing's global supply chain.
"And we are skilling the front-line workforce to become capable of supporting aerospace-grade manufacturing," he said.
Meanwhile, Dennis Swanson, vice president, Boeing Defence, Space & Security in India said the country is a top-priority market.
"We see tremendous potential for partnerships with the Indian defence sector," he said.
