Keynote Interview with Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director of SpiceJet, at Aviation Festival Asia 2025: “Resilience in the midst of fierce competition.”
In 2015, SpiceJet teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Now, although the airline’s stock has dipped 30 per cent since October, it has a bold expansion plan capitalising on India’s unique market potential.
During the keynote interview in February, Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director of SpiceJet reflected on the airline’s long-standing ability to survive against stacked odds. He explained:
“We’ve been told that we’re going to die so many times that we stopped believing it. We always say that SpiceJet is the airline that just absolutely refuses to die. We keep fighting, and we’re also fortunate that we’re in a really exciting market, in a very exciting part of the world.”
Singh talked through the timeline of setbacks the airline faced in a challenging decade, including the Boeing MAX aircraft and the grounding of its entire fleet. Despite the difficulties, Singh has a clear vision for the airline’s continued financial recovery and long-term growth strategy explaining “we know how to create our own niche.”
A central part of the airline’s strategy is leveraging India’s significant growth potential. Highlighting this, Singh added:
“India is a country with 1.4 billion people and only 5 per cent of them fly today. As the Indian economy grows – we expect to grow at 7 or 8 per cent a year for the next 15 or 20 years – and aviation and tourism typically grows at twice the GDP. Can you imagine a market that will continue to grow 15 per cent a year for the next 15-20 years? It’s a terrific market.”
Watch the full interview below for detailed insight into the airline’s strategy, Singh’s perspective on the duopoly in Indian aviation, and the one critical mistake SpiceJet does not plan to repeat.
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For more onsite at Aviation Festival Asia 2025 see:
- Airline disruption: A $60b problem or a loyalty-building opportunity?
- Emerging stronger: What’s next for SriLankan Airlines?
- Julia Simpson: “Within five years, four or five AI tech giants will emerge and we have to back a horse”
Also in the news:
Jeanette Mao on digital innovation, new opportunities, and the evolving LCC landscape
Jeff Moomaw, Delta Air Lines, “We are bullish on Asia.”
Keynote interview: Campbell Wilson on delivering one of the biggest airline turnarounds in the history of aviation
Campbell Wilson on Air India’s transformation and capitalising on a growing market, “The world’s our oyster.”