Exclusive: Air India CEO Campbell Wilson resigns amid losses, operational setbacks

Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson has stepped down from the helm of India’s second-largest airline, and is currently serving his notice period, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Mint independently could not ascertain when Wilson’s notice ends, or whether the Tata Group has found a successor to steer the airline. An email sent to Air India seeking comment went unanswered.

The Tata Group had hired Wilson from Singapore Airlines’ low-cost unit Scoot in May 2022, less than four months after the conglomerate acquired the government-run airline for ₹18,000 crore. His tenure was to end in July 2027.

Following the acquisition, the Tata Group merged Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Ltd, with Air India. Consequently, Singapore Airlines became a 25.1% shareholder in Air India, while Tata Sons owns 74.9%.

However, in Wilson's third year at the airline, things took a turn for the worse on 12 June, when an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff. This led to increased scrutiny, inspections and a temporary grounding of several aircraft, straining operations.

Subsequently, India-Pakistan conflict led to the closure of Pakistan's airspace, hurting Indian airlines’ international flights. The war in West Asia compounded challenges, driving up fuel costs, extending flight durations, and limiting viable routes.

Behind schedule

Four years into its turnaround under the Tata fold, Air India’s $400 million aircraft retrofit programme is two years behind schedule, Wilson told Mint earlier. The delay has slowed fleet upgrades and international expansion, though the airline says costs remain on track and most designs are finalized.

In FY25, Air India’s standalone revenue rose 13% to ₹61,080 crore. Under Wilson, it cut losses to ₹3,976 crore from ₹5,031 crore a year earlier. Air India’s standalone borrowings (excluding lease liabilities) stood at ₹29,713 crore, down over 8% from ₹32,465 crore in FY24, its filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs showed.

However, its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express tells a different story. While revenue rose 26% year-on-year to ₹16,033 crore in FY25, losses expanded more than fourfold to ₹5,822 crore. The airline’s debt (excluding lease liabilities) jumped 61% from ₹6,261.7 crore a year earlier to ₹10,087.4 crore.

Air India is currently the largest loss-making entity in the Tata group.

The development at Air India follows the appointment of former British Airways chief executive officer William Walsh as the new CEO of IndiGo, the country's largest carrier. IndiGo also appointed former Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh as its chief strategy officer.