Jet Airways ex-CEO designate Sanjiv Kapoor joins Saudia airline

Sanjiv Kapoor

Sanjiv Kapoor, the former CEO-designate of Jet Airways, said on May 17 that he has joined the Saudia Group. He also announced that he has joined Saudi Arabia's national airline as an advisor to Ibrahim Al-Omar, the Group's Director General.

"I am thrilled to share that I have joined the Saudia Group as Advisor to His Excellency Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of the Group," Kapoor wrote on LinkedIn.

"One of the three pillars of Saudia Arabia’s Vision 2030 is the transformation of its advantaged strategic location into a global hub connecting three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, while simultaneously attracting 100M annual visitors to the Kingdom. Aviation will play a key role in this, and the role and transformation of the Saudi flag carrier Saudia and creation of Riyadh Air and are key parts the strategy. I am excited at the opportunity of working with a highly passionate and talented team and being part of what promises to be an exciting journey ahead," Sanjiv Kapoor's post further read.

Kapoor’s resignation from Jet Airways came amid unresolved issues between lenders and Jalan-Kalrock consortium, the new promoter of Jet, as the airline struggles to restart operations.

Commenting on his resignation, Kapoor had said, "I am proud to have been part of a fantastic team that came together with JKC to create history by reviving an airline for the first time in India. It is not an ordinary airline we set out to revive – it is Jet Airways was one of the most loved airlines in India for the last 25 years it operated before ceasing operations in 2019. I am proud of the ground-breaking business plan we put together and the progress we made though regrettably the re start of operations could not happen as planned in 2022."

The aviation veteran had joined Jet Airways as its chief executive officer (CEO) in 2022, and departed from the company from May 1. Kapoor had a stint at the Oberoi Group as President. Before the Oberoi Group, Kapoor was chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara from 2016 until 2019. Prior to Vistara, Kapoor led SpiceJet, India’s second largest low-cost carrier, from 2014-2015 as chief operating officer and de facto CEO from November 2013 until October 2015.

Kapoor, a Wharton MBA, started his airline career with Northwest Airlines (now merged with Delta) in the US in 1997, where he worked in finance and corporate planning.

In 2004, he joined Bain and Company (in Singapore and then in Dallas and London) as a leader in their airline practice, working with global airline clients on projects ranging from strategy and performance turnaround to network, alliances, and customer experience.

Kapoor’s previous employers include Temasek Holdings, Singapore, and Oracle Corporation.