Air India’s new chief executive, New Zealander Campbell Wilson, is typifying his new role at the once-proud Indian airline as a mountain climber.
Some would say turning Air India around — with its tardy service, dated product and bureaucratic culture — will be like scaling the Himalayas, which on a clear day he can see from his office.
In his new office in New Delhi, that is what Mr Campbell needs — clear air and a clear hand to bring to Air India the benefit of working for Singapore Airlines and running its low-cost subsidiary Scoot for the past 26 years.
However, there is also a major change at Air India as it was recently acquired from the government by the giant and highly respected Tata Group, which in fact, founded the airline in 1932. Nationalised in 1953, Air India slowly fell behind the rest of the world’s airlines in product and service. Late last year Tata was the winning bid to take over the airline and return it to its former glory and took control in January.
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In the last financial year, the combined 29 Tata companies’ revenue was US$103 billion and the group has a market capitalisation of US$314 billion. Mr Wilson will need to tap the clout of the Tata group to rejuvenate Air India which faces domestic competition from the giant Indigo as well as Spicejet and on the international front from a host of world-class airlines with industry-leading in-flight products.
Mr Wilson was challenged by his severing of ties with the SIA Group. In a note to staff, he said: “It is especially hard to leave Scoot which, in two chapters, I have had the honour and pleasure of nurturing — together with a wonderful, wonderful group of people, past and present — from a mere spreadsheet to, amongst many other things, the World’s Best Long-Haul, Low-Cost Airline.”
He added: “But there are other mountains to climb, and I am humbled to have been selected by Air India’s board as that airline’s new chief executive. It is a fantastic opportunity to lead a historic airline, now owned by the Tata Group, to new heights, and I am grateful to embark on that exciting challenge with the full blessings of the SIA management team.”
Singapore Airlines was very gracious at losing such a key executive and said Mr Campbell went with the airline’s “full blessing.”
Mr N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Air India says that he is “delighted to welcome Campbell to Air India. He is an industry veteran having worked in key global markets cutting across multiple functions. Further, Air India would benefit from his added experience of having built an airline brand in Asia. I look forward to working with him in building a world-class airline.”
Mr Wilson has high hopes for Air India saying that the airline was at the “cusp of an exciting journey to become one of the best airlines, offering world-class products and services with a distinct customer experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality.”
