SpiceJet will be able to return to the black 9-12 months after recapitalisation, Sanjiv Kapoor, the airline’s Chief Operating Officer, said on Tuesday.
“Until we are able to recapitalise, we will not have the ability to take out costs. The recapitalisation activity is ongoing. We hope to call you soon,” Kapoor said addressing a press conference to explain the quarter 2 results.
Kapoor also said that several parties were interested in investing in the airline but did not get into specifics. He added that the airline is doing all that it can to improve its financial performance. “The operating performance improvement in Q2 is real. It is an actual genuine operating performance improvement; it is not impacted by extraordinary revenues or others. We are making significant progress towards a turnaround,” he said.
During Q2, the airline reported a 45 per cent reduction in its net loss at ₹ 310.4 crore. The airline reported a 15 per cent increase in revenue while total expenses were down by 2 per cent. SpiceJet also reported a 7 per cent increase in capacity in Q2 15 as compared to the same period previously.
Pointing out that it will be unfair to compare the situation that SpiceJet is in with Kingfisher Airlines, the COO said, “There is no comparison. We are reporting record load factors. We are paying salaries on time, all service tax and tax deductions at source issues have been sorted out. We are here to stay. It is fashionable to compare with Kingfisher.”
Questioned on flight cancellations by the airline in the recent past, Kapoor said that the airline had changed its schedule. “We are telling passengers that we have changed it for a short time till sometime in December and we are accommodating them. The passengers are being taken care of,” he added.
Kapoor said the airline will have a fleet of 35 Boeing 737 aircraft by December this year and hopes to have 45-50 Boeing in the fleet by the second half of the next calendar year.