A resurgent SpiceJet plays the 1010 card

The airline launched a three-day discounted sale of tickets starting at Rs 1,010, to mark its 10th anniversary

Following several ups and downs in recent times, domestic budget carrier SpiceJet again played the discount card on Tuesday. It launched a three-day discounted sale of tickets starting at Rs 1,010, to mark the 10th anniversary of its operations.
 

The offer, valid until the midnight of May 21, is applicable for travel between July 1, 2015, and October 15, 2015.
 

The airline had been in the middle of a rough time until mid-February this year, with promoter, Sun TV chief Kalanithi Maran, refusing to inject more funds into the loss-making venture. 
 

Lessors had begun taking back planes over non-payment of dues, leading to a much reduced fleet size and fewer daily flights for SpiceJet. The staff strength had also fallen significantly — from 5,500 to 4,000 in November.
 

The airline appeared to have left the difficult past behind when it became know a few days ago that SpiceJet was planning to raise over Rs 900 crore in debt or equity, and was in discussions with private equity firms and banks. The airline has said it will use the funds as working capital to repay dues.
 

It has already received an infusion of Rs 400 crore and is undergoing fleet expansion. 
 

Ajay Singh, who had co-founded the company in 2014 and is now the chairman, had earlier indicated he and other investors would pump in Rs 1,400 crore by April. The airline was also planning to hire about 100 pilots, 50 commanders and as many co-pilots. It would also hire 200-odd cabin crew members and flight engineers, according to a recent Times of India report.

Now, with Singh back in the hot seat, the airline seems to be taking off smoothly. The chairman had said he would give preference to those who had either quit the airline or had been laid off during SpiceJet’s difficult days.