SpiceJet furloughs 150 crew amid financial woes, lean season

SpiceJet is putting 150 cabin crew on temporary leave without pay for three months as the embattled Indian airline tries to raise capital from institutional investors to fund its operations. “This step has been taken in response to the current lean travel season and the reduced fleet size, with the long-term stability of the organization in mind,” a spokesperson said in a statement late Thursday. SpiceJet said last month that it’s seeking to raise as much as 30b rupees ($358m) via a share sale but hasn’t announced any time frame. The beleagured carrier reported a 27% drop in net income for the first quarter to 1.5b rupees while revenue sunk 15% year-on-year. The staff furlough comes after India’s aviation regulator the Director General of Civil Aviation placed SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance to ensure that its poor financial health doesn’t impact safety, The Hindu reported, citing a senior DGCA official. SpiceJet said in its statement that crew members will continue to retain their status as employees. The budget airline is still flying but its market share in July fell to just 3.1%. It used to command around 15% of the market just prior to Covid in 2020.<br/>