Budget carrier SpiceJet may partner with two American companies, including an international airline, and diversify its businesses beyond aviation, its Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh told PTI on Thursday.

“We must hedge ourselves from the risk of being in a pure aviation business and find the businesses which are connected to aviation, which would be a little more insulated from the high cost of fuel and so on,” Singh said, explaining the reasons for the attempt at expansion. “We believe that there are significant strategic partnerships that we can enter into and we will be announcing them soon.”

Singh was speaking on the sidelines of the Annual Leadership Summit of US-India Strategic and Partnership Summit in Washington.

Though Singh did not name the American companies that SpiceJet is looking to partner with, he said they were looking at the technology sector. “We think that that is an important space to be in, the digital and technology space,” Singh said. “We want to be in the cargo, courier and logistics business. We believe that that’s going to be an important part of SpiceJet’s business.”

He clarified that this did not mean that SpiceJet was looking to expand to the United States. The company is only focusing on using technology to improve customer experience and operating performance, he said.