New frontiers at India’s top airlines

October 1st 2022

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In recent months, the helms of India’s two most important airlines took on a very different public and leadership face. Read More » At IndiGo, former KLM CEO, Pieter Elbers, (52) succeeded Ronojoy Dutta as CEO, a responsibility that requires maintaining the LCC’s position as India’s largest and most profitable airline and developing a trustful relationship with its board and importantly, it’s most influential shareholder, Rakesh Gangwal. The parent company, Interglobal Aviation, was so anxious for Elbers to be the heir apparent it paid Dutta to bring forward his departure from IndiGo.

Elbers, famously from the engineering shop floor of the Dutch flag carrier, possessed a dream CV as far as Interglobe was concerned. He gets on well with his people and most importantly, he had turned the fat cat flag carrier to profit within four years of his appointment. He also was available after he did not sign a new contract with KLM in at the break of 2022.

At Air India, former SIA executive star, Campbell Wilson, is deep into his plan to return Air India to its former glory. He looks forward to “new frontiers” for the international airline while simultaneously working through the plans of his employer, Tata Group, to absorb AirAsia India and joint venture Tata-SIA carrier, Vistara, and transform the airline into a more unified company.

He has the “ambition”, he told India media, to triple the carrier’s fleet in five years but cautions “it will take a while” so the most exciting thing is Air India’s “potential”, the very marketing savvy Campbell said earlier this month.

New Zealander Campbell (51) had returned to Scoot from SIA’s top management ranks, after the airline hit rock bottom in the first brutal months of the pandemic, when Delhi called.

It is easy to understand why. Air India is the country’s very diminished and shabby flag carrier and Campbell has deep industry experience necessary to transform it.

At SIA he had worked with success across the region. He had set up LCC Scoot, so he gets where AirAsia India – and IndiGo - want to be. He has worked in top management at one of the most outstanding airlines in the world so he understands the mental knitting of the owners of joint venture Vistara, Tata’s and SIA Group.

These heavy hitters create successes. India could be their best ever.