Campbell Wilson will be an Air India pilot owned by Tata Sons

Tata Sons-owned Air India on Thursday appointed Campbell Wilson, a veteran of the aviation industry, as its chief executive officer and managing director, months after Ilkar IC, the former chairman of Turkish Airlines, rejected the offer.

Wilson has nearly 26 years of aviation industry expertise in both full-service and low-cost airlines. He is currently the CEO of Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ (SIA’s) wholly owned subsidiary. The Air India board has approved the appointment, subject to the necessary regulatory approval, Tata Sons said in a statement.

“I am just happy to welcome Campbell to Air India. He is an industry veteran who has worked in the core world market across multiple functions. In addition, Air India will benefit from its additional experience in building an airline brand in Asia. I look forward to working with him to build a world class airline, “said Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran.

Wilson will be with Scoot until June 15. She began working with the SIA in New Zealand in 1996 as a management trainee. He then worked with the SIA in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to Singapore in 2011 as the founding CEO. Of Scoot, which he led until 2016. Subsequently, Wilson served as SIA’s Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, before returning to his second term as CEO of Scoot in April 2020.

“It is an honor to be selected to lead the iconic Air India and to be part of the highly respected Tata Group. Air India is on the verge of an exciting journey to become one of the best airlines in the world, offering world-class products and services with a unique customer experience that reflects India’s warmth and hospitality. I am excited to join Air India and Tata colleagues in the mission to realize that ambition, ”said Wilson.

Air India operates domestic and international passenger services, air cargo and charter services in India, including its wholly owned subsidiary Air India Express.

In early March, Ayci welcomed the Turkish Airlines tour, rejecting the Tata Group’s offer to become the CEO and managing director of Air India, citing “unwanted” descriptions by a section of the media. The IC was seen as close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is believed to be close to Pakistan.

After that, Tata Sons launched a global search for a new chief and even evaluated internal candidates, and even asked management consultant and executive search firm Egan Zehnder and other chief-hunters to quickly find a replacement.

Later in March, Tata Sons appointed N Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of Air India. Chandrasekharan’s appointment was important because the group needed to address a number of career issues after its expansion, including pilot recruitment, upgrading existing aircraft fleets and charting maps to co-exist with the group’s other aviation initiatives. The most important agenda before the group is to make the career profitable as soon as possible.