Ascending above the turbulence
In the past year SpiceJet has made a remarkable comeback
ON DECEMBER 16th 2014 SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, suspended all flights after a late-night meeting at which its bosses had debated shutting it down permanently. The nine-year-old airline was struggling with $300m of debt. Suppliers were refusing to refuel its planes unless they were paid upfront. Most of the 5,000 staff had not been paid their latest monthly salaries. SpiceJet had been cancelling so many flights that the government had banned it from taking bookings more than a month in advance, cutting its cashflow. SpiceJet seemed to be flying the same route as Kingfisher Airlines, an Indian carrier which went out of business in 2012.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Ascending above the turbulence”
From the December 19th 2015 edition
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