In a major board-level reshuffle, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has decided to step down as the chairman of budget airline Air India Express, according to an internal message shared with staff on Tuesday.
Wilson will be replaced by Tata Group veteran and Air India Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal. The CEO and MD of Air India, who has been the chairman of Air India Express since June 2022, will also vacate his seat on the airline's board. His board position will be filled by Air India Chief Operations Officer Basil Kwauk after receiving necessary regulatory approvals.
Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India. The restructuring comes a little over six months after the merger of Air India Express and AIX Connect (earlier AirAsia India).
Wilson, in the internal message, stated that over the past 18 months, the Air India Group has completed many structural changes critical to transforming itself, including merging its four airlines into two, consolidating its non-flying teams in Gurugram, and refreshing the leadership teams of both Air India and Air India Express. With this structural work largely complete, the task at hand now is to fully leverage and optimise the Air India Group's fleet, network, sales, distribution, and loyalty assets.
"I've therefore decided that the time is right for me to step down as Chairman of the Air India Express Board and for Nipun Aggarwal, who is already on the board of AIX, to assume the role (while also continuing his Air India Chief Commercial Officer duties), thus enabling greater coordination of the Group's network and commercial efforts," Wilson said.
Air India Group comprises Air India, which completed the merger of Vistara with itself in November 2024, and Air India Express.
"I will obviously remain keenly interested in Air India Express's progress and success, fully support Nipun and Basil in their additional roles, and remain responsible for the overall performance of the Air India Group," Wilson said in the message.
Air India currently has about 210 planes in its fleet. Its low-cost airline subsidiary, Air India Express, has about 90 planes.
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