Air India CEO Details Carrier’s Ambitions: ‘We Are as Much a Startup as We Are a Transformation’

Air India has big ambitions: CEO Campbell Wilson said he wants to restore the carrier into a “top-tier and world-class airline” at the Skift India Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday. Following decades of underinvestment by the Indian government, the carrier has been in the process of a complete makeover ever since it was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022. Air India has launched new business class cabins, new cabin crew uniforms and a new logo. The carrier also placed a record order for 470 aircraft — one of the largest in commercial aviation. This plan is part of Air India’s strategy, known as “Vihaan.AI,” referring to the Sanskrit word for “dawn of a new era.” Wilson has often compared the 92-year-old airline to that of a startup because of these major changes. Until recently, he said, Air India had been using antiquated IT for its operations and had an aging workforce. “I’ve described it as a startup because it really had decades of underinvestment,” Wilson said. “We are as much a startup as we are a transformation,” he continued. But now Air India is attempting an overhaul. Wilson said Air India has managed to reduce the average age of its workforce from 54 years old to 35 through a major hiring push as some workers retire. The Air India CEO said the airline has hired around 5,000 people in the span of 18 months. Story has more.<br/>