SpiceJet bucks the trend, to hire 500 this fiscal

Mumbai: These could be turbulent times for the Indian aviation industry but that has not stopped SpiceJet from hiring people.
The New Delhi-based low-cost carrier plans to recruit 400-500 people this fiscal.
“This is to backfill attrition and support growth. In the last three months, several senior positions have been filled that include Ms Shilpa Bhatia, Vice-President, Sales Strategy and Corporate; Mr Anish Srikrishna, Senior Vice-President and Head of Marketing, and Ms Sarabjeet Kaur, who joined us as Head of Customer Service,” Mr Sanjay Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, SpiceJet, told Business Line in an email response.
The airline already has some 2,500 employees.
The 500 new recruitments will include 40 pilots and 60 cabin crew besides those in security, reservations/ticketing and customer care.
Asked if SpiceJet would consider pay cuts in the backdrop of the recession, Mr Aggarwal said, “We pay our team-members competitive wages based on their background and experience and expect them to participate in the long-term success of SpiceJet.
Hence, our intent is not to take advantage of the economic climate.” Last month, he had said the company evaluated two plans.
One, to launch international services when it gets the go-ahead in May 2010, and the other to tap the potential in tier-II and tier-III cities. He had then indicated that it would take three months to gauge the situation.
27/05/09 BusinessLine