ROUTE RECALCULATION

Beleaguered with financial problems, SpiceJet is looking to leverage existing revenue streams and build them into money-making verticals

- MANU BALACHANDRAN

By his own admission, Ajay Singh has always hated living a placid life.

That’s precisely why, every now and then, he relishes taking up new challenges, particularly those that his friends and well-wishers consider impossible. The last time he did so was five years ago when he decided to buy an airline that had nearly gone bankrupt.

SpiceJet, then owned by Tamil Nadu-based billionaire Kalanithi Maran, had to shut operations after debt spiralled out of control. Singh stepped in, bought the controlling stake, and turned in 18 consecutive months of profits. “You know, when I took over SpiceJet, people told me, you're completely nuts. You're crazy. This is impossible. It's never been done anywhere in the world,” says the chairman and managing director of SpiceJet. “For me, it was easier to revive something than to set it up again. It’s all about a never-say-die attitude.”

Perhaps, it’s this attitude that has helped the airline stay afloat despite some heavy tailwinds in the past year, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the world. When India announced a two-month nationwide lockdown, and the airline industry came to a standstill, there wasn’t a single day when SpiceJet didn’t operate; its aircraft were engaged in transporting medicines, personal protection equipment (PPE) kits, and farm produce. In fact, Singh claims, his airline was the first to approach the government to allow carrying cargo, specifically medical equipment and medicines, on passenger seats.