Ajay Singh, the Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, recently participated in a panel discussion at the India Today Conclave 2023, along with other business leaders. The panellists shared their insights on how to survive lows and lockdowns, and what it takes to bounce back and thrive in challenging times.
Ajay Singh spoke about SpiceJet's strategy to repurpose several aircraft to export goods from India to other countries during the Pandemic. The airline was able to generate revenue and also contribute to the country's export sector because of this initiative. He noted that SpiceJet managed to retain all its employees despite adversities, which was a significant achievement.
The government said to us, can you please fly a plane to China and get a PPE suit from Shanghai. When it comes here because we want to replicate it, can you fly to Coimbatore because you have no other way to send it to Coimbatore? We had this one aircraft that flew that one PPE suit. There was nothing in that plane but that one PPE suit, Singh said.
SpiceJet repurposed several aircraft to export goods from India to other countries and managed to retain all its employees despite adversities, Singh said.
Singh shared the three things he learned during the Pandemic. The first thing to do is to try and find opportunities in the crisis. The importance of automation and the importance of never assuming that the worst can't hit you.
He said that SpiceJet is working towards a common goal and that demand is strong and SpiceJet has automated a lot of things.
Ajay Singh, Puneet Chhatwal, the MD and CEO of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, and Ajay Bijli, the Chairman and Managing Director of PVR Ltd, shared their experiences on how their respective companies navigated through the Pandemic and bounced back.
Chhatwal said that we started community service for frontline workers in hospitals during the lockdown, started giving out meals, converted some hotels as isolation centres for doctors on duty.
Chhatwal said that they are almost 30 per cent ahead in terms of profit compared to the pandemic levels.
During the discussion, Bijli discussed the impact of the Pandemic on the film industry. He noted that 2019 was a record-breaking year for box office earnings globally, but the pandemic brought their revenue to zero. He emphasised the importance of diversifying one's business and not putting all of one's eggs in one basket.