Is it true that Chandrasekharan will take over as the new head of Air India?

For now, that is what the market grapevine is talking about. The board is likely to be an 8-member body with N Chandrasekharan as the head of the board. It is expected that Sanjiv Mehta of Hindustan Unilever may also be inducted into the board of Air India. It shows the growing importance aviation in the group’s overall business plans since Chandra is currently not part of the board of Vistara and AirAsia.

The new Air India CEO is likely to be a leading aviation turnaround expert. Currently, the search is on for the CEO. Tatas, as is their practice, are keen to set high standards of corporate governance for Air India. Last week, Tatas regained control of Air India nearly 70 years after they had to cede control. Air India never made profits since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007 and had reported losses of Rs.7,017 crore for fiscal year FY21.