Ajay Singh, co-founder of SpiceJet is to infuse about Rs 1,000 crore in the airline by mid-May. With Rs 550 crore already pumped in after he took over earlier this year, the funds are expected to be used for expansion purposes.
SpiceJet has begun to prepare itself for fleet expansion by starting a recruitment drive. In what may be called drawing a full circle, the low-cost carrier will hire 100 pilots, the same number that exited SpiceJet when uncertainty gripped the airline in February.
The Company had expanded its fleet by taking delivery of three B-737 aircrafts from a Czech company on a short-term wet lease. With plans to induct seven more B-737 aircrafts, the airline is looking to hire about 100 pilots, 50 commanders and as many co-pilots. 200-odd cabin crew and flight engineers will also be hired. The recruitment process is expected to begin next week.
With co-founder Ajay Singh returning at the helm, people who had quit are now eager to return. Singh himself has made it clear that he would give first preference to those who had either quit or had been laid off during the airline’s difficult days.