Jet Airways revival: An uphill task amid strong headwinds on take-off

If the Murari Lal Jalan-Kalrock Capital combine can script a turnaround, it will have pulled off a bigger coup than Ajay Singh did with SpiceJet in 2014

In 2014, when Kalanithi Maran threw up his hands and his airline SpiceJet was two days away from closure, Ajay Singh, previously a director of the airline, stepped in. The airline had around 32 aircraft, with lessors threatening to repossess them for non-payment of dues, around 5,000 employees (far more than what the fleet required), vendor dues of approximately Rs 3,500 crore and no clear flight path. The carrier was flying to around 39 stations with low frequencies.

Singh took charge, renegotiated many contracts, reduced stations and trimmed staff, increased flight frequency and the rest, as they say, is history. Besides