Rajesh Kurup
Jet Airways, which plans to start operations in the coming summer months, has appointed aviation industry veteran Sanjiv Kapoor as its chief executive officer effective April 4. Kapoor resigned as the president of Oberoi Hotels on Thursday. He has earlier been a chief operating officer at SpiceJet and chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara.
“I am looking forward to getting back to aviation, an industry I am passionate about, with Jet Airways, one of the warmest, classiest and most-loved brands to have graced Indian aviation. Even though Jet Airways has been out of operation for three years, it still has a large fan base of loyal customers who miss it every day and can’t wait for it to take to the skies again,” Kapoor said.
“Working together with a very strong team of experienced aviation professionals that is being put together by the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, I look forward to leading the charge in rebuilding Jet Airways into the most preferred customer-oriented airline once again, a people-focused airline for the digital age,” he added.
Kapoor’s appointment comes days after Jet roped in former Sri Lankan Airlines’ CEO Vipula Gunatileka as its chief financial officer.
During Kapoor’s tenure (2016-2019), Vistara grew to 38 aircraft and over 200 flights a day from 9 aircraft and 40 flights a day. He was also instrumental in the SpiceJet turnaround in 2014-2015.
Kapoor, who started his airline career with Northwest Airlines (now merged with Delta) in the US in 1997, had also worked with Bain and Company (airline practice), Temasek Holdings and Oracle Corp.
“I always believe in investing in human capital and by having Sanjiv as the CEO and Vipula as the CFO, I am certain Jet Airways will reclaim its lost glory and surpass everyone’s expectation,” Murari Lal Jalan, lead partner of the Jalan Kalrock Consortium said.
Jalan is also slated to be the non-executive chairman of Jet Airways.
In February, the carrier appointed Gunatileka as CFO and industry veterans Nakul Tuteja as vice president for human resources and administration, and Waleed Ali as vice president (products & services).
“Indian domestic aviation market, which was adversely impacted by the three waves of Covid, has now almost recovered. Many of the existing airlines, particularly IndiGo, are engaged in expanding their fleet by adding more aircraft. Air India’s acquisition by Tatas will also ensure optimal utilisation of aircraft, therefore augmentation of capacity. Launch of a new airline, Akasa, and revival of Jet Airways, at this juncture, when ATF prices are also galloping, will make the business environment tough for them,” Jitender Bhargava, former executive director at Air India said.
Jet Airways, which started operations in 1993, is the country’s oldest private airline. The carrier ceased operations in 2019 due to a financial crunch and underwent a bankruptcy process. Later, a revival plan submitted by Jalan Kalrock Consortium was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal’s Mumbai bench.
The carrier, following the approval of the revival plan, intends to restart domestic operations in the coming summer months and short-haul international operations by next year.
