SpiceJet

Red tail, white dots, and sometimes a Boeing 737, sometimes a turboprop: SpiceJet is one of the airlines that have shaped the picture at Indian airports for about two decades. It is exciting for spotters because it unites two very different aircraft families under one brand – and because financial turbulence keeps the fleet constantly in motion. This page shows you how to identify SpiceJet, which types you’ll encounter and what to watch out for when spotting in India.

SpiceJet at a glance

SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost carrier headquartered in Gurugram, formerly Gurgaon, in the Delhi metropolitan area. It first took off under the SpiceJet name on May 24, 2005 – on the Delhi–Mumbai route, the country’s most important domestic connection. The company itself is considerably older, though: it goes back to the firm that operated the airline ModiLuft from the 1990s. ModiLuft flew Boeing 737-200s with technical support from Lufthansa but ceased operations in 1996. The empty shell was later renamed Royal Airways and taken over in the mid-2000s by Ajay Singh, who turned it into SpiceJet.

The concept was classic low-cost from the start: simple fares, high load factors, a lean fleet. In the years that followed, SpiceJet became one of India’s largest private airlines, also flew abroad from 2010 and added turboprops to the 737 fleet for smaller cities. Since about 2019, though, the story has been above all a story of crises – more on that below.

Unlike Air India, SpiceJet belongs to no alliance. The airline mainly sells direct flights and works with other companies only through individual codeshares, for example with Emirates and Gulf Air. Its main bases are Delhi and Hyderabad.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code SG: appears in the flight number, on tickets and on the departure boards in the terminal.
• ICAO code SEJ: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on most flight trackers.
• Callsign SPICEJET: how the crew identifies itself on the radio – easy to remember because it matches the brand name.

The IATA code SG tends to mislead because it recalls Singapore. It has nothing to do with the city-state – IATA codes are purely airline identifiers. If you search for SpiceJet on a tracker, it’s best to use the ICAO code SEJ or the registration directly.

The fleet: Boeing 737 and Dash 8 Q400

SpiceJet relies on two aircraft families. The Boeing 737 flies the big routes between the metropolises and abroad, while the Dash 8-400, usually called the Q400 for short, connects smaller cities and serves shorter routes. Added to that are the freighters of the SpiceXpress arm.

Type	Seats (typical)	Use	Spotter tip
Boeing 737-700	around 140–150	Domestic, smaller demand	Shortest 737 in the fleet, much stubbier
Boeing 737-800	186–189	Main routes, Gulf region	For a long time the workhorse, some leased to other airlines
Boeing 737-900ER	212	Dense main routes	Longest 737 at SpiceJet, only a few examples
Boeing 737 MAX 8	189	Main routes	Newest generation, some with advertising liveries
Dash 8-400 (Q400)	78 or 90	Regional routes	Focus on Hyderabad, many aircraft parked
Boeing 737 freighters	Cargo	SpiceXpress	Converted passenger jets without the row of windows

Concrete fleet numbers should be treated with caution at SpiceJet. Public fleet overviews for 2025 and 2026 give, depending on how they count, between just over 50 and just under 70 registered aircraft – but only a part of them is in service. Most of the Q400s in particular were recently parked, and among the 737s too, some aircraft are on the ground or fly on lease for other airlines. SpiceJet also still has a large number of 737 MAX on order with Boeing, whose delivery has been delayed by the airline’s financial problems.

The Boeing 737-800 was the most important type for many years. The 737 MAX 8 is meant to replace the older Next Generation jets, but so far only a small number are flying at SpiceJet. Rarer are the 737-700 and the stretched 737-900ER. The manufacturer of all the jets is Boeing.

The Q400: SpiceJet’s turboprop side

The Dash 8-400 is what makes SpiceJet special for spotters. SpiceJet ordered its first Q400s in late 2010 and used them to build a regional network that connects cities without demand for a full 737. In 2017, another order followed from the then manufacturer Bombardier – including a more densely seated version with 90 instead of 78 seats. Today the program belongs to De Havilland Canada, which is why you read both manufacturer names depending on the source.

The focus of turboprop operations is Hyderabad. You recognize the Q400 by its high-mounted wings, the big six-blade propellers, the T-tail and the long, slim fuselage. If you want to tell turboprops apart quickly, the guide Telling the ATR 42/72 and Dash 8 apart has the key features – because in India, other airlines also fly many ATRs.

You’re more likely to find comparable Q400 operators in North America, such as Porter Airlines from Toronto or WestJet Encore. In South Asia, SpiceJet is one of the best-known Q400 customers of all.

SpiceXpress: the cargo arm

Since 2018, SpiceJet has run its own cargo arm, SpiceXpress. It uses converted Boeing 737s that carry pallets and containers instead of passengers. In 2019, the first 737-800 converted to a freighter (Boeing Converted Freighter) joined – by its own account, SpiceJet was the first airline in South Asia with this conversion. The arm also includes converted 737-700s, which were recently parked, however.

You recognize freighters by the missing rows of windows and the large cargo door on the front left side. They are interesting for spotters because they often fly at off-peak times and park at different positions than the passenger jets.

Crises, leasing and a fleet in motion

SpiceJet’s history is closely tied to financial turbulence – and that explains why the fleet is so hard to keep track of.

For you as a spotter, this means that what is in older photo archives and fleet lists is often no longer correct. Aircraft change owners, are parked or fly under foreign flags. How such models work is explained in the articles on aircraft leasing and on wet lease. Some 737-800s from SpiceJet’s fleet were leased to European airlines such as Smartwings at times. If you follow the registration history, you sometimes discover an Indian past on an aircraft landing in Europe. How registrations are structured is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.

How to recognize SpiceJet

The paint scheme is simple and easy to read: white fuselage, “SpiceJet” titles and a red tail with a white dots logo. The dots are arranged in rows and get smaller from one side to the other – a pattern you can still make out from a great distance. Since 2015, the airline has advertised with the slogan “Red. Hot. Spicy.”, and the color red runs through its whole look accordingly.

A nice detail are the spice names: many SpiceJet aircraft carry the name of a spice on the nose. The 737 MAX 8 with the registration VT-MXD, for example, is called “Cinnamon,” VT-MXB “Jalapeño.” Some aircraft also fly with advertising liveries that change the fuselage over large areas. How to find such motifs deliberately is explained in the guide to special liveries, and background is available on advertising liveries.

Telling 737 generations apart at SpiceJet

Because SpiceJet uses older and newer 737s side by side, a close look is worthwhile. You recognize the 737 MAX 8 by the engine nacelles with serrated trailing edges and by the split-tip winglets with one tip pointing up and one down. The 737-800 and its Next Generation siblings have smooth engine nacelles and mostly classic, upward-curved winglets.

Within the Next Generation, length helps: the 737-700 looks short and stubby, the 737-900ER is clearly stretched and has an additional pair of emergency exits behind the wing. If you want to practice this systematically, the guide Telling the Boeing 737 Original, Classic, NG and MAX apart gives you all the features at a glance.

Spotting SpiceJet: in India and on the road

You’ll experience most SpiceJet flights in India itself – at big airports like Delhi Airport, in Hyderabad or Mumbai. Abroad, the airline flies mainly to the Gulf region and neighboring countries. In Europe, you practically never see SpiceJet in scheduled service.

When spotting in India, though, special caution applies. Airports are considered sensitive places there, many sites are also used by the military, and there is no official spotter program. Cameras at the fence are quickly misunderstood. What you need to know before you get your camera out is in the guide Plane spotting in India.

SpiceJet in the Indian market

The Indian domestic market is dominated by IndiGo and the Air India group with Air India Express. Added to that is the newcomer Akasa Air, which also relies on the 737 MAX. SpiceJet was once the clear number two among the low-cost carriers but has lost considerable market share through the crises. How the low-cost model works in principle is explained in the article How low-cost carriers work.

For spotters, that is exactly the appeal: while IndiGo flies with hundreds of nearly identical Airbus jets, every sighting at SpiceJet is a small puzzle piece of a fleet that keeps changing.

Common mix-ups

• Thinking SG stands for Singapore – the IATA code SG belongs to SpiceJet, not to an airline from Singapore.
• Logging a Q400 as an ATR – both have a T-tail, but on the Q400 the main gear retracts into the engine nacelles, on the ATR into fairings on the fuselage. The Q400 is also longer and slimmer.
• Taking winglets as the only MAX feature – the engines are the surer distinguishing feature between the 737-800 and the MAX 8.
• Treating old fleet lists as current – many aircraft are parked, leased out or already returned.
• Thinking every red tail is SpiceJet – only the dot pattern and the VT registration make the identification certain.
• Logging wet-lease aircraft as SpiceJet property – leased aircraft fly for SpiceJet but often carry other registrations and paint schemes. How to place mixed and transitional liveries is shown in the guide to hybrid liveries.

Conclusion

SpiceJet is an airline with two faces: red 737s on the big routes, Q400 turboprops in the regions – and behind it an eventful history of crises, rescues and leasing. If you note down registrations, spice names and the 737 generation, you capture not just a sighting but a piece of a fleet that will keep changing in the years ahead.