SpiceJet’s co-founder Ajay Singh seemed surprised that someone would even ask what was going through his mind when, in December 2014, the Indian low-cost carrier’s aircraft were grounded.
Fuel suppliers had refused to refill its planes for fear that they wouldn’t be paid. Thousands of its customers’ holiday plans had been thrown into disarray and the carrier’s 5,000 workers were sent home, unsure of whether they would be paid the salaries they were owed. It was a bleak Christmas for all concerned and there were fears its planes would not take off again.
But at that stage, Mr Singh had not been involved with the management of the company for more than four years. He and his fellow investors had sold out to the media magnate Kalanithi Maran and his KAL Airways company, which had, observers said, made a mess of things. Strictly speaking, it was no longer his concern. But he did not see it that way.
“How would you expect me to feel? I felt terrible,” Mr Singh told The National during a recent interview in Dubai. “Some of the mistakes that were being made at the time – it was obvious that they were mistakes. I couldn’t do anything about it.”
A month later, by mid-January last year, Mr Singh found himself back at the helm of the business after KAL Airways transferred its stake in the company back to Mr Singh and a group of investors that pledged to inject 15 billion rupees (Dh812 million) into the company.
17/01/16 Michael Fahy/The National
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Fuel suppliers had refused to refill its planes for fear that they wouldn’t be paid. Thousands of its customers’ holiday plans had been thrown into disarray and the carrier’s 5,000 workers were sent home, unsure of whether they would be paid the salaries they were owed. It was a bleak Christmas for all concerned and there were fears its planes would not take off again.
But at that stage, Mr Singh had not been involved with the management of the company for more than four years. He and his fellow investors had sold out to the media magnate Kalanithi Maran and his KAL Airways company, which had, observers said, made a mess of things. Strictly speaking, it was no longer his concern. But he did not see it that way.
“How would you expect me to feel? I felt terrible,” Mr Singh told The National during a recent interview in Dubai. “Some of the mistakes that were being made at the time – it was obvious that they were mistakes. I couldn’t do anything about it.”
A month later, by mid-January last year, Mr Singh found himself back at the helm of the business after KAL Airways transferred its stake in the company back to Mr Singh and a group of investors that pledged to inject 15 billion rupees (Dh812 million) into the company.
17/01/16 Michael Fahy/The National
