Nipun Aggarwal replaces Wilson as Chairman of Air India Express
Air India continues to reorganize under Tata Group ownership
Jet delivery delays hinder Air India’s modernization efforts
(Added details of the memo and background for Air India and Air India Express)
NEW DELHI, April 22 (Reuters) – Air India CEO Campbell Wilson will serve as chairman of the airline’s low-cost subsidiary India Express, replaced by chief business officer Nipun Aggarwal, a multi-billion dollar restructuring that charges the billion-dollar restructuring of the former state-owned agency, the memorandum said in a memo on Tuesday.
Wilson will also be replaced by India’s chief operating officer Basil Kwauk. Aggarwal and Kwauk will retain their existing roles, according to a memo sent by Wilson.
After two years of control of the Tata Group, Air India is in a turnaround strategy. The group merged four airlines into two – a full-service brand of the same name and Express, which merged with Airasia India to create a larger airline and refreshed leadership in both airlines.
“With this structural effort, the task at present is to make the most of the group fleet, network, sales, distribution and loyalty assets,” Wilson said in a memo seen by Reuters.
After leading Tata’s acquisition of carriers, Aggarwal joined Air India in January 2022 and was responsible for multiple functions including aircraft acquisitions, financing and strategy. Reuters reported that Air India was exploring billions of dollars in spacious jets last month.
However, the jet delays complicate airline turnover efforts and force them to run older jets longer than planned, increasing maintenance costs and slowing down its modernization and expansion drives, even for air travel booms.
China has ordered its airlines not to deliver further Boeing aircraft in the tariff war, Bloomberg News reported.
Air India and Boeing did not comment immediately. Air India Express’s main strategy is to supplement its parents on its route, but declined to comment.
Express has more than 100 aircraft, including 68 Boeing 737s and 36 Airbus A320s. It is expected to add about 15 aircraft in the fiscal year starting April 1 and purchase from Air India. (Reported by Abhijith Ganapavaram and Ananta Agarwal in Bangalore; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and David Evans)
