SpiceJet?s chief executive officer Neil Raymond Mills has put in his resignation, with sources saying that he is likely to join another airline in the Asian region. Mills still had a year and half to go before his contract would expire in 2015.
?As a company policy, we do not comment on market speculation and rumors,? said a company spokesperson. SL Narayanan, the group chief financial officer of Sun Group, was not available for comments immediately.
Neil Mills, too, wasn?t available for a comment.
Sources also said that while it is true that Mills has put in his resignation, the management is yet to accept the resignation. ?The performance of the airline over the last couple of quarters has also been of concern as last quarter the airline had a larger than expected loss of R191 crore,? said a person in the know.
If the management accepts the resignation, the Kalanithi Maran-owned airline would find itself without two key top executives. The airline also does not have a chief commercial officer. The airline?s ex-chief commercial officer Harish Moideen Kutty had resigned a few weeks earlier and joined RAK Airways.
Mills has been with the airline since 2010 after the airline was bought by Kalanithi Maran. He previously worked with European budget carrier EasyJet and Dubai-based budget carrier FlyDubai.
Mills has overseen the airline?s expansion into the regional market and operating fleet with two types of planes propelling the airline to a market share of 19.5%.
However, the success hasn?t translated into profits and over the last three years the airline has lost R796 crore despite Kalanithi Maran pumping in R350 crore. Prior to his arrival, SpiceJet had posted profits in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The resignation of SpiceJet?s chief executive officer comes even as the airline remains in negotiations to attract a foreign carrier in the airline. On Tuesday, SpiceJet?s shares closed 0.74% higher on the BSE at R27.40.