Campbell Wilson became chief executive officer of Air India in 2022. Photo / Lionel Ng, Bloomberg via Getty Images
New Zealander Campbell Wilson has resigned as Air India chief executive.
Christchurch-born Wilson took the job in 2022 after leading Singapore Airlines’ subsidiary, Scoot.
“The time is right for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of Air India’s rise,” Wilson said.
“It has been a true honour to play a small part in this latest chapter of Air India’s long history, and I will continue to be an enthusiastic supporter of this wonderful organisation and its people.”
The Air India board had constituted a committee to find his successor “in the coming months”, the airline said.
Air India and low-cost carrier Air India Express lost US$1.05 billion ($1.74b) in the 2024-5 financial year.
On June 12 last year, 241 people on board were killed when Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick Airport crashed.
Wilson was afterwards criticised for a speech in parts identical to one American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom gave after a fatal Washington DC crash five months earlier.
Wilson in 2023 told the Herald the chief executive’s job was “an opportunity to perform a national mission”.
New Delhi Television said Wilson called his resignation a “natural juncture” in a letter to employees.
Indian conglomerate Tata Group owns 74.9% of Air India. Singapore Airlines owns 25.1%.
Air India’s troubles might have some wondering again when direct India-New Zealand routes might emerge.
“It is a distant destination which means you have to have the right aircraft configuration in the right way in the market to make it work,” Board of Airline Representatives (Barnz) executive director Cath O’Brien said.
She said Air New Zealand ran some extraction flights from Mumbai and Delhi during the Covid pandemic but those flights would not have been full.
It is more than 12,500km from Auckland to Delhi.
That’s well within reach of ultra-long haul (ULH) aircraft but a viable permanent service would need to balance fuel costs, payload, and the likelihood of getting flights with enough passengers - but probably not too many.
Qantas is buying Airbus A350s specially designed for ULH trips and its Project Sunrise aircraft have a high number of first-class, business and premium economy seats, and just 140 in economy.
“As aircraft gradually improve over time, you’ve got more opportunities and it’ll be up to each airline to say what their airline is capable of,” O’Brien said.
Air India and Air New Zealand are both Star Alliance members.
In March last year, Wilson and then-Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at boosting air connectivity between India and New Zealand.
The MoU was signed at a Mumbai event in the presence of another former Air NZ chief executive, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
The agreement meant people could travel from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai on Air India, and connect at Sydney, Melbourne or Singapore onto Air NZ flights to Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown.
The two airlines said they would collaborate to grow the travel market now, before a possible direct service by 2028.
Any such service might also face competition from major regional hubs such as Singapore, which is already a transit point for New Zealand-India travellers.
Air India said it currently had more than 300 aircraft but was getting more, including Airbus A350 widebodies and A320 narrowbodies.
Currently in a five-year transformation plan, it had placed orders for 600 new aircraft.
The airline was privatised in 2002 after 70 years of Government ownership.
Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran said Wilson showed leadership and helped the airline make some progress over the past four years.
The new aircraft orders, new simulators and a flying school were cited as examples of that progress.
Chandrasekaran said he acknowledged numerous external challenges, including prolonged post-Covid supply chain constraints.
As with many other airlines, those logjams had delayed some new aircraft deliveries for Air India.
John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation. He previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics, police and courts.