Tata weighs Nipun Aggarwal, Vinod Kannan for Air India’s top job

GURUGRAM: Air India is at a crossroads, and the suspense is killing the aviation world. Nipun Aggarwal and Vinod Kannan have emerged as the leading contenders to become chief executive, as Tata Group wrestles with a leadership call that could define the airline’s future at one of the most turbulent moments in its history, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The hunt gathered urgency after Campbell Wilson announced his resignation in April. Multiple insiders told the FT that Aggarwal and Kannan are now the two names doing the rounds.

Aggarwal, Air India’s chief commercial officer and a key architect of its transformation strategy, is tipped as the disciplined insider — strong on costs, efficiency and operational rigour. He is said to enjoy the backing of Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, though sceptics question whether he has the global, full-service airline chops the job demands. One insider was blunt: financial discipline alone won’t cut it; running the airline Air India wants to become needs other skills entirely. A former Air India director went further, saying Aggarwal had no experience running a full-service carrier of that scale.

That has kept Kannan firmly in the hunt. The former Vistara chief is widely respected for steering the premium airline before its 2024 merger with Air India, and is seen by some as the safer pair of hands operationally.

Muddying things further: Chandrasekaran’s own tenure at Tata Sons is due to end in February 2027. Most board members reportedly want him to stay on, but Noel Tata, who chairs Tata Trusts, the principal shareholder, has opposed another term for the veteran chairman.

Wilson’s own exit, meanwhile, has raised eyebrows. Sources say Delhi’s choking pollution was among the reasons he gave Chandrasekaran when he first signalled his willingness to step down, as far back as December. Others insist Wilson, hired soon after Tata’s takeover of Air India, always intended a four-year stint and no more. Former Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava didn’t sugarcoat the dilemma: nobody groomed within Indian aviation is in line to run the airline, leaving Tata with a distinctly restricted choice.

Whoever lands the job inherits an airline in the thick of it. Capacity has been slashed by up to 20 per cent this year as West Asian tensions disrupted operations and sent fuel costs soaring. The closure of Pakistani airspace to Indian carriers has piled on the pain, reportedly costing Air India close to $600 million annually given its sprawling international network.

Then there’s the shadow of last year’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad — one of the deadliest aviation disasters in Indian history, claiming 260 lives just as Tata was rebuilding the brand after acquiring it from the government in 2022. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has yet to release its final findings; a preliminary report pointing to fuel cut-off moments after take-off has been contested by a pilots’ association and relatives of one pilot, who have gone to the Supreme Court demanding a fuller probe.

Add to that a $2.8 billion loss for the year ended March, a 570-aircraft modernisation programme running into supply-chain delays, and operational pressures squeezing profitability — and the in-tray awaiting Aggarwal or Kannan looks less like a promotion and more like a baptism by fire. One thing is certain: whoever gets the nod will need nerves of steel, a thick skin, and a very good travel agent.