Tata Sons' chief N Chandrasekaran is new Air India chairman
What's the story
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has been officially appointed as the chairman of Air India. As per reports, his appointment was approved at a board meeting in Delhi on Monday. Notably, this is the second major responsibility given to Chandrasekaran in a month. In February, Tata Sons had announced the extension of his tenure as the company's chairman for another five years.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Tata Group had recently taken over the airline from the central government and the handover marked the return of Air India to the Tatas after nearly seven decades. The appointment comes after former Turkish Airlines chief Ilker Ayci turned down the offer to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air India over his alleged political links in Turkey.
Plans
"Will make Air India most technologically advanced airline"
Addressing the airline's employees recently, Chandrasekaran had said that the Tata Group plans to expand Air India's network, modernize the fleet, improve customer service and make the company the most technologically advanced airline in the world. The key priorities of the group include improving the standard of basic service of Air India, on-time performance, and redressal of issues related to passenger complaints.
Data
Other appointments
Former CMD of General Insurance Corporation Alice Geevarghese Vaidyan will be reportedly inducted as an independent director on the airline board. However, sources cited by Outlook claimed that security clearances required for the board members' appointments have come in paving the way for the appointments.
CEO
Hunt for CEO underway
Meanwhile, the hunt for the airline's CEO is still underway. Earlier, Ayci was appointed the airline's CEO but he declined to take up the role over opposition from some groups. Ayci had said he didn't want to take the offer by Tata Group after reading about the opposition and attempts to paint his appointment with "undesirable colors" in some sections of the media.
Background
Tata took over Air India in January this year
Air India returned to the Tata Group after 69 years in January this year. In October 2021, the government had announced the takeover of Air India by Tata after making a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore. The airline was facing a total debt of Rs 61,562 crore as of August 31, 2021, Economics times reported.