Jet Airways thinks there is plenty of operational synergy between its low-cost airline JetLite and SpiceJet.
Speaking to Business Standard, Jet Executive Director Saroj Datta said: "SpiceJet and JetLite are an absolute fit in so far as their business models are concerned."
Commenting on the possibility of another consolidation that is "waiting to happen in the aviation industry", Datta said consolidation is inevitable but the scope is limited. The three smaller airlines -- SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir -- offer limited scope to bigger carriers. But within them, SpiceJet seems to be a better fit.
JetLite has a 7.1 per cent market share and SpiceJet 10.3 per cent.
Datta's comments come soon after those of Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal, who had said he is not averse to buying another airline if it is in the interest of the shareholders. Jet had renamed Sahara JetLite after acquiring it at Rs 1,450 crore.
Datta, however, refused to elaborate on whether any talks are on with SpiceJet. "It's difficult to speculate on when any specific merger is likely to happen. The airlines will have to see what fits best with their own business models."
Siddhant Sharma, SpiceJet CEO, said the airline has not received any feelers from Jet as of now. "Datta is a respected man and whatever he says makes a lot of sense, but there is nothing of the sort on the ground right now. We are not in talks with Jet on any such move. But if it happens, it has to happen through the current stakeholders in SpiceJet," he said.
SpiceJet is owned by the Africa-based Kansagra family. The Tata group also has a stake.
On reports regarding he quitting Jet, Datta said he had spent 46 years in the aviation industry and would not like to comment on speculation. "I will talk about it when the right time comes," he said.
Reflecting on the current state of the aviation industry, Datta said globally recession has impacted aviation, but the domestic markets will pull through after hitting a low on account of high fuel prices after another bad year. "The growth forecasts of between 20 and 25 will have to be lowered," he added.
Defending Jet's expansion in the international market in the current scenario when the chips are down, he said: "What do we do? We have launched our international operations so we cannot stop now. The aircraft have been ordered and they will be there. We are still a small player internationally and will continue to expand. We have made our brand visible. There is never a right time to enter a market. Maybe for a short time, we will not add more capacity and fly fewer international routes."
