Nipun Aggarwal and Vinod Kannan shortlisted for Air India CEO
Air India is considering contenders for its next CEO, and it is now between two names:
Nipun Aggarwal, who has led the airline's commercial turnaround but lacks global airline leadership experience, and
Vinod Kannan, known for his strong operations background and for overseeing the premium airline before its merger with Air India in 2024.
N Chandrasekaran reportedly backs Aggarwal
Tata Sons boss N Chandrasekaran is said to favor Aggarwal, but internal disagreements are slowing things down.
Whoever gets the job will face some tough issues, like flight cuts due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia, with the closure of Pakistani airspace further straining operations, fallout from last year's crash, delays in modernizing the fleet, and a $2.8 billion loss for the financial year ended March.
The next CEO has their work cut out rebuilding Air India's reputation on the world stage.