SpiceJet promoter and chairman Ajay Singh is known as a turnaround man. Nearly 20 years ago, he bought an airline, ModiLuft, which had been dead for close to a decade, renamed it, and turned it into a successful low-cost carrier, SpiceJet. He sold most of his stake in SpiceJet in 2010 to media baron Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Group, and soon exited by selling the remaining stake too. In a few years, SpiceJet turned into a loss-making, debt-ridden, dying airline. Despite advice by friends to keep off, Ajay Singh again bought a stake in the airline, turned it around and put it on a path of sustained profitability. It wasn’t just his turnaround skills; he was lucky too, because the oil prices had crashed. Prices of air traffic fuel are a big factor behind the performance of an airline.
