Air India CEO Campbell Wilson Steps Down |

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The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India, Campbell Wilson, has resigned. He will, however, continue in office till a successor is decided on. Campbell was a nominee of Singapore Airlines, which has a minority stake in Air India.

News of his resignation started to filter in late on Monday night. Air India confirmed the news over 12 hours later in a media statement issued this afternoon.

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“Wilson had conveyed his intention to step down in 2026 to Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran in 2024 and, since then, has been working to ensure the organization and leadership team are on a stable footing for the transition,” the airline statement said.

Wilson added that “the four years since Air India’s privatization have seen the acquisition and successful merger of four airlines, an evolution from public to private sector practices, along with renewal of the leadership team, workforce, culture, and ways of operating. It has seen the complete modernization of systems, the launch of new physical products, and the deployment of elevated service standards on the ground and in the air, as well as the addition of 100 aircraft to the fleet. The full interior refit of legacy narrowbody aircraft has all but been completed, with deliveries of widebody aircraft with new custom-designed interiors now underway”.

He added that “with these foundational blocks now settling and a brief window until deliveries from the nearly 600-strong aircraft orderbook commence in earnest from 2027, the time is right for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of Air India’s rise.”

The airline statement added that the Air India Board has constituted a committee to identify a successor in the coming months.

Mixed bag tenure for Campbell

Campbell was the first Airline CEO when the airline returned to the Tata fold in 2022, nearly seven decades later.

Campbell started out cautiously, announcing in September 2022 a five-year Air India comprehensive transformation plan to establish itself, once again, as a world-class global airline with an Indian heart – the absolute best in class in customer service, in technology, in product, in reliability, and in hospitality. The plan was titled “Vihaan.AI”, which in Sanskrit signifies the dawn of a new era, with identified objectives for Air India over the next 5 years.

As part of Vihaan.AI, Air India had put into place a detailed roadmap with clear milestones, focusing on dramatically growing both its network and fleet, developing a completely revamped customer proposition, improving reliability and on-time performance, and taking a leadership position in technology, sustainability, and innovation, while aggressively investing in the best industry talent.

The airline also said that over the next 5 years, it will strive to increase its domestic market share to at least 30 percent while significantly expanding its international routes from its then-current market share. The plan aimed at putting Air India on a path to sustained growth, profitability, and market leadership.

The plan faced many headwinds, as targets had to be kept shifting because the global supply chain could not keep up with the needs of transforming the airline fleet.

Losses in Air India mount

Air India’s total consolidated net loss was Rs. 108.59 billion in FY25, up approximately 48 percent year-on-year compared with the previous fiscal. This reflects the combined results of Air India, Air India Express, and related subsidiaries — acquired by the Tatas in 2022.

Ahmedabad crash of an Air India plane was a big dampener

Probably the lowest point in Campbell’s tenure as CEO was the crash of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner while on a flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick in June 2025. The crash was the first crash of the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft anywhere in the world and claimed the lives of 260 people, including passengers and people on the ground.

Having inherited an airline with an old fleet, Air India faced criticism on social media and in the Indian media about the state of its aircraft. One first-class passenger took to social media, calling Air India the worst first class ever on a flight from the US to India. The airline refunded his $ 6,300 fare for a one-way ticket.

Then, in 2025, an Air India flight returned to Chicago after almost 10 hours in the air because plastic bags and rugs had clogged the toilets.

Role reversal for a foreign CEO in Indian airlines

Campbell was the head of Scoot, a low-cost carrier subsidiary of SIA, before he joined Air India as CEO, a full-service carrier. On the other hand, Pieter Elbers, the former CEO IndiGo was the CEO of KLM, a full service airline before he joined IndiGo a low cost airline in India.