New Delhi: A day after announcing that promoter Kalanithi Maran would hand over control of troubled carrier SpiceJet to new investors led by Ajay Singh, the airline on Friday cleared December salary dues for a section of employees such as ground staff who fall in the lower pay bracket. The development comes even as the airline gears up to lay off over a fifth of its 5,000 employees across functions to cut costs.
“On Friday, junior employees in grade-5 category received their wages for December. However, senior management and pilots are yet to receive salaries,” a person close to the development said.
While the civil aviation ministry allowed the low-cost carrier to start taking forward bookings beyond March 31, 2015 after it submitted its revival plan for government approvals on Thursday, the airline had not re-opened bookings as of 6 pm on Saturday. Forward bookings are critical for SpiceJet to shore up daily revenues. As an indication, such bookings accounted for Rs 12-13 crore daily revenues till November last year, but on Saturday dropped to Rs 3-4 crore.
Under the revival plan, SpiceJet is due to get Rs 1,500 crore in three equal tranches by March from the investors, while Maran will pay off part of the Rs 1,400 crore liabilities. Maran, and associate company KAL Airways, will offload the entire 58 per cent promoter stake to Singh and investors like JP Morgan. Singh is also expected to seek waiver from an open offer from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
17/01/15 Roudra Bhattacharya/Business Standard
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“On Friday, junior employees in grade-5 category received their wages for December. However, senior management and pilots are yet to receive salaries,” a person close to the development said.
While the civil aviation ministry allowed the low-cost carrier to start taking forward bookings beyond March 31, 2015 after it submitted its revival plan for government approvals on Thursday, the airline had not re-opened bookings as of 6 pm on Saturday. Forward bookings are critical for SpiceJet to shore up daily revenues. As an indication, such bookings accounted for Rs 12-13 crore daily revenues till November last year, but on Saturday dropped to Rs 3-4 crore.
Under the revival plan, SpiceJet is due to get Rs 1,500 crore in three equal tranches by March from the investors, while Maran will pay off part of the Rs 1,400 crore liabilities. Maran, and associate company KAL Airways, will offload the entire 58 per cent promoter stake to Singh and investors like JP Morgan. Singh is also expected to seek waiver from an open offer from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.
17/01/15 Roudra Bhattacharya/Business Standard
