Sanjiv Kapoor steps down as SpiceJet’s COO; expected to join another airline

Sanjiv Kapoor has stepped down as chief operating officer of SpiceJet, bringing to an end a seesaw two-year tenure marked by the low-cost airline’s string of financial losses, near closure, changed ownership and eventual return to profitability.

Friday will be the last working day at SpiceJet for Kapoor, who was previously CEO of GMG Airlines of Bangladesh and leader of airline practice at global consultancy Bain, confirmed two executives of the airline.

Kapoor, 48, is expected to join another airline. Kapoor, whose contract runs until November 2016, joined SpiceJet on November 1, 2013.

As COO, Kapoor in effect helmed SpiceJet when it was owned by Kalanithi Maran of Sun Group (as a US passport holder, his elevation to CEO was held up by regulatory clearances). But after Maran exited SpiceJet due to a severe cash crunch last December – when the airline flirted with closure – by transferring ownership to Ajay Singh, a co-founder of the airline, he retreated to a supporting role.

Kapoor’s role diminished dramatically after Singh took over. Singh, emboldened by his experience as co-founder, took over the reins over the airline completely. Not only was Singh hands-on, calling the shots on the nitty-gritty of operations, he also became the company’s official spokesman, a task that Kapoor earlier performed.

The diminished role contributed to Kapoor’s decision to exit SpiceJet, said one of the SpiceJet executives, who is part of the leadership team. Singh and Kapoor did not comment for this article.

Even so, Kapoor is leaving SpiceJet on amicable terms. On Monday, he had represented SpiceJet at a conference in Dubai. Three commercials published by SpiceJet this week bore Kapoor’s signature style of aggressive and colourful branding.

Kapoor’s tenure will be remembered for the frequent sales of tickets by SpiceJet. A few airline analysts criticised the sales as a trick to generate cash, but Kapoor defended them as a strategy to stimulate demand, which helped SpiceJet bump up revenue by flying “much fuller” aircraft and return to profitability.

At the helm and after, Kapoor showed a kind of pugnacity unusual for an airline boss in India. He often exchanged barbs with heads of competing airlines such as Aditya Ghosh of IndiGo and Mittu Chandilya of AirAsia India on Twitter.

The first months of Kapoor’s tenure were marked by serious differences with Singh. His exit seemed imminent.

“They didn’t start on the best of terms,” said the senior executive.

Nevertheless, Singh did not meddle with the sales and other actions pivoted by Kapoor such as the launch of SpiceMax (seats with more legroom, priority check-in, complimentary meal etc for extra fees), an advertising blitz and stress on ancillary revenues. Singh eventually endorsed Kapoor’s sales push -SpiceJet launched yet another sale as recently as Tuesday – and other actions.

In an interview earlier this year, Kapoor said he had received a few job offers after the airline changed hands. He rejected them, he said, because he wanted to bring back stability to the airline and move on in his own terms.

SpiceJet reported a second successive profit in the April-June quarter after six straight quarters of losses.