Air India Ltd. announced Tewolde Gebremariam will succeed Campbell Wilson as chief executive officer amid the Tata Group-owned carrier’s struggles to recover from last year’s deadly plane crash and mounting losses linked to geopolitical tensions.
Tewolde, former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, brings crucial capabilities required for Air India’s future, the carrier said in a statement Wednesday.
The pick reflects the Tata Group’s push for a leader with a proven record of managing airline turnarounds during a difficult rebuild. The Indian flag carrier has struggled to lift yields and improve service to desired levels despite ambitious fleet expansion plans.
Tewolde’s immediate priorities will be to steady Air India’s international operations, cut cash burn and manage the unpredictable routings forced by regional conflicts. Wilson resigned in April after Air India posted a record loss in the fiscal year ended March 31.
The leadership change at Air India comes as the broader industry faces its toughest operating environment in years. Airspace curbs following India and Pakistan’s border flare-up last year and the Iran conflict have forced Indian carriers to take longer, costlier routes to international destinations. The war in the Middle East has also driven up aviation fuel costs, further straining airlines’ finances.
Kapil Kaul, CEO & director at aviation advisory firm CAPA India, called it an “excellent decision,” adding that the new CEO will need a support system to turn around the carrier.
Rival IndiGo also got a new CEO last month in Willie Walsh — an aviation industry veteran — as India’s largest carrier bet on global experience to navigate an unusually turbulent time for Indian aviation.
Slow Recovery
Tewolde was in charge when Ethiopian Airlines’ Boeing jet crashed in 2019, killing 157 passengers and crew.
During his decade-plus tenure as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, Tewolde spearheaded a multibillion-dollar expansion, transforming a regional carrier into Africa’s largest and most-profitable airline, growing revenue by more than fourfold and fleet size by nearly threefold, Air India said in the statement.
“Tewolde’s track record in building one of the world’s most efficient and profitable airline groups makes him uniquely suited to lead Air India,” Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of group parent Tata Sons Pvt. and Air India, said in the statement.
The Tata Group began scouting for a new CEO earlier this year, with Chandrasekaran holding initial discussions with potential candidates as the conglomerate grew impatient with the airline’s slow recovery, Bloomberg News reported in January.
India’s largest conglomerate bought Air India from the government in 2022. Singapore Airlines Ltd., which owns 25.1% of the carrier, has seen its earnings dragged down by Air India’s losses.
Under Wilson, Air India had been edging back toward profitability as part of a long-drawn transformation drive but the Dreamliner crash in June last year — which killed more than 240 people — and the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year undid years of progress.
Wilson oversaw the merger of four airline brands into two — Vistara into Air India and AirAsia India into low-cost Air India Express — and pushed upgrades to cabins and lounges.