If you want to engage an Indian aviation enthusiast in conversation, the easiest way is to start a debate on who is going to be the new owner of Air India. So it was not surprising to see guests at the CAPA India Aviation Summit wait eagerly to listen to two prospective bidders — Leslie Thng, CEO of Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture Vistara, and Ajay Singh, CMD of SpiceJet. Singh was repeatedly quizzed on his interest in Air India and like a dyed-in-the-wool business leader he managed to change the topic every time saying that SpiceJet was too small to be in the race.
When asked for the third time, Singh pointed to Thng, who was seated in the front row, and said, “I think they are in the race, you should ask them.”