When Rahul Menon became CEO of SkyBridge Regional in 2021, the airline had six weeks of cash and a fleet half grounded for maintenance.
His first act was an all-hands meeting where he shared the real numbers. “Hiding bad news is how companies die slowly,” he says.
The playbook
He cut unprofitable routes, renegotiated leases in person, gave every employee a small equity stake and made on-time performance the single metric everyone was measured on.
In a crisis, people do not need a hero. They need the truth, a plan and someone who will stay.
Three years later, SkyBridge is profitable, has an on-time rate above 92 percent and has doubled its fleet. Rahul still answers customer complaint emails himself every Monday.
