Jeh Wadia steps down as GoAir MD, Ben Baldanza made vice chairman

GoAir on Monday appointed board member Ben Baldanza as its vice chairman and said Jeh Wadia, scion of the family that owns the airline, will step down as managing director to help plans to strengthen management.

Jeh Wadia will continue to be part of the airline’s board, said the company that is planning an initial public offering (IPO). Baldanza, a former chief executive officer of USA’s Spirit Airlines, has been on GoAir’s board since 2018.

The airline, according to media reports, intends to raise around Rs 4,000 crore and has hired merchant bankers and law firms for the share sale. A final decision though would be taken by the Wadia group, which owns the airline.

The airline, which has a fleet of 53 Airbus A320 aircraft, said that the executive changes are part a plan to strengthen the management by bringing on-board proven industry professionals–a strategy that “has worked well” for the Wadia group in its other ventures including Britannia.

Baldanza worked for American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and other companies before becoming the CEO of Spirit Airlines in 2006. He repositioned Spirit Airlines as the first ultra-low-cost airline in the North America and increased its fleet from 32 to 100. GoAir said it intends to rebuild itself as the first ultra-low-cost airline in India.

“With the goal of taking GoAir to its next phase of growth, the promoters of the company and its Board came together to formulate a long-term plan. Amongst other initiatives, a key element of this plan, forged over weeks of discussions and consultation, was to further strengthen the management of the company by bringing on-board proven industry professionals,” said the airline in a statement.

The airline operates 37 aircraft of its total strength, as the government has allowed only 80 percent capacity in the industry due to Covid-19.

A senior executive said GoAir is considering more routes as it sells tickets at online portals to new destinations such as Amritsar, Dehradun and Surat.

The route expansion comes ahead of a possible IPO. Industry sources said the airline is looking to hire in senior executives to head network planning, treasury management, finance and sales.

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