‘All salary issues have been resolved’

BOSTON: The court cases filed by aircraft lessors to recover their dues don’t assist anybody very much and all such disputes eventually end in settlements, SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said last week.

SpiceJet employees are now being paid their full salaries on time and all issues related to their pays have been resolved, he said in an interview.

Delhi high court last month restrained SpiceJet from transferring a part of its assets to a separate company after Goshawk, one of the airline’s aircraft lessors, filed a case to recover its pending dues of approximately $25 million.

On September 3, a section of employees of SpiceJet went on a short strike at the Delhi airport over issues related to reduced salaries and their irregular disbursement.

Singh said it is a difficult time for every airline around the world and not just SpiceJet.

“I think SpiceJet has done very well to stay afloat in this crisis. We have built a new cargo business. We are using that cargo business to reduce the parent’s liabilities, SpiceJet’s liabilities, by a significant amount,” he added.

On the Goshawk case, Singh stated: “Goshawk has gone to court against most of the airlines around the world. So, we will try and find a settlement with Goshawk as well as the other lessors. All these disputes eventually end in settlements.” “I think the court process does not assist anybody very much. I think, traditionally, all these disputes have always been settled through negotiation. That is what we expect will happen,” he added.

SpiceJet—which reported a net loss of ₹934.8 crore and ₹998.3 crore in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively—entered into a settlement with CDB Aviation and Avolon, two major lessors of Boeing 737 Max aircraft, during the August-September period this year.