Ajay Singh to invest more in 'upswing' SpiceJet's fleet expansion

Singh, original co-founder, has so far invested about Rs 800 cr into the no-frills airline since taking back control

With fortunes of SpiceJet on an "upswing again", its chairman and main promoter Ajay Singh will look at putting in more money for fleet expansion, even as he continues to explore various investment options.

Singh, the original co-founder, has so far invested about Rs 800 crore into the no-frills airline since he took back the reins last December after a major crisis had hit the company.

Under a detailed plan to bolster its fortunes, SpiceJet's immediate priority is to further "regain consumer confidence" before embarking on fleet expansion, he said.

"We were at a phase where the airline was actually shut down... The focus is now on getting back consumer confidence and we will work on that for a few more months," Singh told reporters here.

When asked about his fund infusion plans, Singh said so far he has invested about Rs 800 crore into the carrier.

"SpiceJet is on a highly visible upswing again... Funding requirement depends on how much the company needs," he said, while adding that more money would be put in for expanding the fleet.

"Some investors are interested in the airline... We continue to look at options (for investment), he added.

Under the revival plan, Singh was to invest Rs 1,500 crore in the carrier.

"We are looking at expanding the fleet," said Singh, who is now chairman and managing director.

SpiceJet plans to add six to seven new aircraft by end of this fiscal, 2015-16.

He was talking to reporters on Saturday to announce various initiatives to mark the airline's 10th anniversary.

After seven quarters of losses, SpiceJet posted a net profit of Rs 22.51 crore in the January-March period helped by renegotiated contracts and settlements and provisioning for re-delivery expenses, among others.

The airline had reported a net loss of Rs 321.5 crore in the same period a year ago.

Elaborating on future plans, Singh said the priority is to "refocus on core values" such as on-time performance and safety.

"We need to get back our operations in order... We will also look at further automating and integrating our backend operations apart from making adjustments to existing network," he added.

On completion of ten years, SpiceJet has unveiled a new brand look and slogan - 'SpiceJet is different. It is Red. Hot. Spicy'.

Besides, the airline unveiled a new mobile application and expects to see a meaningful jump in bookings through it.