Air India Announces Scoot's Campbell Wilson As Airlines' New CEO, MD

Tata Sons on Thursday appointed Campbell Wilson as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India. Wilson, who previously headed low-cost airline Scoot, has an aviation experience of 26 years across both full service and low-cost airlines. Tata Sons said in an official statement.

"It is an honour to be selected to lead the iconic Air India and be part of the highly respected Tata Group. Air India is at the cusp of an exciting journey to become one of the best airlines in the world, offering world-class products and services with a distinct customer experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality," Wilson, 50, was quoted as saying by the Livemint.

Wilson has been associated with Singapore Airlines for over 15 years and has been based in Japan, Canada and Hong Kong. He started his career as a management trainee with SIA in New Zealand in 1996. He moved to Singapore in 2011 as the founding CEO of Scoot, subsidary of Singapore Airlines. He led the airlines till 2016 before serving as the Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing of SIA.

Wilson returned to Scoot as its CEO in 2020 for a second stint.

Earlier, Air India had announced Ilker Ayci, a Turkish national, as the CEO and MD of the airlines after Tata acquired the airlines from the government in a bid in October 2021. Ayci's appointment was announced in January and he was supposed to take charge of the office on April 1. However, in March Ayci turned down the offer.

He had alleged that certain sections of the Indian media tried to paint his appointment with "undesireable colours". "...I have come to the conclusion that it would not be a feasible or honourable decision to accept the position in the shadow of such narrative", he said.