Chandra Says Air India Must Regain Passenger Trust; New CEO Vows To 'Make Air India Great Again'

Air India needs to rebuild passenger trust and tighten its finances as it enters a crucial new phase, Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran said Monday, as incoming CEO Tewolde Gebremariam urged employees to help restore the airline's fortunes and declared: "We will Make Air India Great Again." Chandrasekaran, who is also the chairman of Air India, made the remarks at a town hall with employees, his first since announcing that he would leave the Tata Sons chairmanship when his current term ends on February 20, 2027.

He formally introduced incoming Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tewolde Gebremariam, 61, who succeeds Campbell Wilson.

The leadership transition comes at a pivotal time for Air India, which has been grappling with mounting losses, operational disruption and heightened regulatory scrutiny following a fatal crash last year.

"The most important thing Air India should aspire to have is trust in the minds of people," Chandrasekaran told employees, adding that the airline's safety record should be "better than the best." He said the carrier's next phase would have to focus on safety, customer trust, operational execution and cost discipline, while urging employees to build a stronger culture of cost consciousness.

Chandrasekaran acknowledged that the past 18 months had been particularly difficult, citing geopolitical disruptions, airspace closures, fuel-price volatility and the fatal AI171 accident as factors that had affected Air India's operations and performance.

The June 2025 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad killed 260 people and triggered intense scrutiny of the airline's safety practices. Air India has also faced regulatory findings over operational and compliance lapses, adding to pressure on the management to strengthen its safety culture and processes.

The carrier faces an equally formidable financial challenge. Air India Group recorded a loss of more than $2 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2026, compared with a loss of about $1.13 billion a year earlier, according to Singapore Airlines, which owns about 25% of Air India. The airline has not returned to profit since the Tata Group regained control of the carrier in January 2022.

The scale of the turnaround has prompted Chandrasekaran to say that rebuilding Air India could take five to 10 years, rather than being a rapid transformation. The group has been investing heavily in fleet renewal, cabin refurbishment, technology and integration following the acquisition of Air India and the subsequent merger of Vistara with the carrier.

Air India also has more than 500 aircraft on order, creating a significant future capital commitment even as Tata Group seeks to bring losses under control. The airline has been looking at ways to defer some deliveries amid pressure to cut costs.

Against that backdrop, Gebremariam used his first address to Air India employees to call for a renewed focus on the basics of airline operations.

The former chief executive of Ethiopian Airlines Group, who has nearly four decades of experience in the industry, including more than 11 years at the helm of Ethiopian Airlines, said Air India had a powerful heritage, a strong brand and enormous potential.

"If we do the right things at the right time, the sky is the limit." Gebremariam, who is coming from the US, also said: "we will Make Air India Great Again (MAGA)," echoing US President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan.

Gebremariam recalled his experience with Air India while working in Mumbai in the 1990s, saying the airline was then at the top of the industry. He said he now had an opportunity to help restore the carrier to that position.

He said safety must be the airline's top priority and employees should be empowered to raise concerns.

"Safety-first culture has to be the number one priority," he said, adding that if something is not right, "it should be stopped." Gebremariam also put operational reliability at the centre of his plans, saying the fundamentals included punctual departures and arrivals, reliable baggage delivery and clean aircraft.

"Operational excellence is about getting the basics right every day -- on-time departures, on-time arrivals, baggage delivery and clean aircraft," he said, adding that customer experience is a function of operational excellence.

"We need to minimise disruptions and when they do occur, handle them professionally and take care of our customers," he said.

He acknowledged that substantial foundational work had already been undertaken but said further progress would depend on employee support.

"We cannot bring about meaningful change without the commitment of our people." Gebremariam was appointed Air India's CEO and managing director on August 5 following a search overseen by a dedicated board committee.

"Led by Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, employees came together at a town hall to welcome Air India's new CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, alongside outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson, marking the next chapter in Air India's transformation journey," the airline said in a post on X, alongside a photograph of the three executives.

He is the second foreign CEO to lead Air India since its privatisation, after Tata Group took control of the airline in 2022.

Gebremariam spent more than 36 years at Ethiopian Airlines, joining the carrier in 1985 and rising through roles in cargo, commercial operations and management before becoming group chief executive in 2011. During his 11-year tenure, Ethiopian Airlines expanded into Africa's largest airline by fleet and network while building businesses beyond passenger services, including cargo, aircraft maintenance, aviation training and its Addis Ababa hub. The carrier's revenue grew more than fourfold under him, while its fleet nearly tripled.

He also brings experience of leading an airline through major crises. In March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board and contributing to the global grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX fleet. Gebremariam ordered Ethiopian Airlines' remaining 737 MAX aircraft be grounded immediately, before regulators in major aviation markets imposed their own bans.

Less than a year later, the Covid-19 pandemic brought global passenger aviation to a near standstill. Ethiopian Airlines leaned heavily on cargo operations, drawing on infrastructure it had developed before the pandemic and converting passenger aircraft to carry freight.

The airline Gebremariam now inherits is markedly different from the one he led in Ethiopia. At Air India, he takes charge of an enlarged carrier still working to stabilise operations, restore passenger confidence and improve profitability while executing one of the most ambitious transformations in the global airline industry.

His appointment comes as Air India faces fresh safety scrutiny.

On August 4, an Air India A320 flight from Phuket to New Delhi suffered a sudden loss of altitude. A preliminary investigation found that all three hydraulic systems briefly lost pressure, leaving key flight controls unresponsive for several seconds. The aircraft subsequently recovered and landed safely, but 24 passengers and crew were injured. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has continued to investigate the cause of the hydraulic-system failure.

The incident was subsequently classified as an accident, while a drug test on the flight's captain returned a non-negative result for a psychoactive substance. Air India terminated the pilot's employment and introduced mandatory substance testing for all pilots. Investigators have not established a link between the test result and the aircraft's hydraulic-system failure.

The recent incident has added to scrutiny following the Ahmedabad crash and earlier regulatory concerns over Air India's compliance and operational processes. The airline has said it is co-operating with investigators and working to strengthen safety and operational standards.

Outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson, who has led Air India's transformation since Tata Group's takeover, told employees that the transformation would continue and that the carrier's best days were still ahead.

Wilson said he would remain Air India's "biggest cheerleader from the sidelines" and that Gebremariam would take the airline forward with great success.

Wilson resigned earlier this year. During his tenure, Air India completed major structural changes including the merger with Vistara and the consolidation of Tata's airline operations, while embarking on an ambitious fleet-modernisation programme.

Last month, Wilson said Air India remained focused on returning to profitability despite external volatility and planned to induct more than 100 new aircraft over the next two years.

For Gebremariam, the challenge will be to improve safety and operational reliability while simultaneously restoring profitability and managing the costs of an ambitious expansion programme.

Tata Group acquired Air India from the Indian government in January 2022. Singapore Airlines subsequently acquired a 25.1% stake in the enlarged Air India group, leaving Tata Sons as the controlling shareholder.

Chandrasekaran's continued focus on Air India comes as he prepares to hand over the Tata Sons chairmanship, making the carrier's revival one of the major unfinished projects of his tenure. For the new management, the immediate task will be to translate the group's long-term investment and transformation programme into a safer, more reliable and financially sustainable airline.