SpiceJet set to submit revival plan to government

New Delhi: Beleaguered budget carrier SpiceJet will submit a revival plan to the government today on the basis of a proposed investment of USD 200 million from founding promoter Ajay Singh and US-based JP Morgan Chase, official sources said on December 25.

"Based on this proposed investment, SpiceJet will submit a revival plan to the civil aviation ministry tomorrow," a source had said on December 25. The potential investors are likely to buy stake from current promoter Kalanithi Maran by infusing USD 200 million within a month to help the airline stay afloat.

Besides Singh, a fund managed by JP Morgan Chase would also be one of the investors, the sources said. The airline has already received Rs 17 crore from the investors, the sources said, adding that "it has wiped off all its dues to the oil companies".

The no-frill carrier's dues to foreign and Indian vendors, airport operators and oil companies had grown from Rs 990 crore to Rs 1,230 crore between November 24 and December 10, as per data provided by the airline to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

The airline's dues to foreign vendors, including lessors of aircraft and maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) facilities, had risen from Rs 624 crore on November 24 to Rs 742 crore on December 10.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today said the government was trying to be helpful on the SpiceJet issue and the airline needs to clean up its accounts if it has to survive in the market.

"What SpiceJet is going through is its own financial problem. It has to clean up its accounts. We are only trying to be helpful," he told reporters here after inaugurating the e-office governance in the Civil Aviation Ministry and single-window facility at the Airports Authority of India.

"Why should the government push or pull up any airline? What we need is more players, more airlines and more connectivity," he said.