Chandrasekaran sets up interim committee to lead Air India as search continues for CEO Campbell Wilson’s successor
Tata Sons-owned Air India will be run by an interim committee until a new CEO is found. Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran is forming an interim management committee for Air India comprising himself, former Air India CMD Pradeep Singh Kharola and other senior executives, according to a report by The Economic Times.
Kharola previously served as Chairman and Managing Director of Air India between 2017 and 2019, when the airline was under state ownership. He later served as Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and was associated with the airline’s privatization process. He returned to Air India in June as Executive Director to the President.
Air India is looking for a new CEO
The development comes as Tata Sons continues its search for a new CEO to replace Campbell Wilson, who is scheduled to leave the airline in September. Tata Sons announced in April that Wilson, who has led Air India since 2022, was stepping down as CEO.
According to recent reports, Air India’s search for a new CEO has narrowed down to two names: Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal and former Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan.
Last month, Finance Times It reported that Aggarwal is the prime candidate for the post and is believed to have the support of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran. However, Chandrasekaran is reportedly cautious about making a final decision amid questions about his future at the conglomerate.
The loss-making flag carrier was privatized in January 2022 and is now jointly owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. Despite Tata Sons’ huge cash flow, Air India continues to struggle financially and operationally.
What did Campbell Wilson say about Air India’s challenges?
In an interview with PTI last month, Wilson had said that Air India’s foundations had been rebuilt in the last four years, but failure to deliver aircraft on time had significantly impacted growth and fleet modernisation.
Wilson said the next challenge for Air India will be expansion as the next phase will see the delivery of most of the 670 aircraft.
When asked if he had any regrets, he stated that it was a shame that the plane ordered by Air India was not delivered on time.
He noted that the situation had a significant impact on growth, product and fleet modernization.
Wilson said the second big regret is supply chain constraints on seats, particularly first class and business class seats, which have delayed the airline by nearly two years from renewing existing wide-body aircraft.
“If the new aircraft had been delivered and the retrofits had been done as people had contractually committed to us, the rest of Air India’s transformation would have been much more advanced. So it’s a sadness. But it was completely out of our control,” the Air India CEO said.
Air India Group, comprising Air India and Air India Express, has more than 300 aircraft.
Currently, Air India has 184 aircraft, of which 34 are Boeing 787 or Dreamliners and 6 A350s. There are also 19 Boeing 777-300 ERs.
Two new Boeing 787-9s have joined the fleet, and the retrofit of Boeing 777-300 ERs is expected to begin in mid-2027.
