New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) In a significant board-level change in Tata Group’s consolidated airline business, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson will step down as the Chairman of budget airline Air India Express and will be replaced by Tata Group veteran and Air India Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal.

Wilson, who is the CEO and MD of Air India, has been the Chairman of Air India Express since June 2022, and will now also be exiting the budget carrier’s board. The decision comes little over six months after the merger of Air India Express and AIX Connect (earlier AirAsia India).

Announcing the decision to step down as Air India Express Chairman in an internal message to staff on Tuesday, Wilson said that over the past 18 months, many structural changes critical to transforming the rebuilding of the Air India Group has been completed.

Air India Group comprises Air India, which completed the merger of Vistara with itself in November 2024, and Air India Express.

With this structural work largely complete, the task at hand now to fully leverage and optimise the Air India Group fleet, network, sales, distribution and loyalty assets, he said.

“I’ve therefore decided that the time is right for me to step down as Chairman of the Air India Express Board, and for Nipun Aggarwal, who is already on the board of AIX, to assume the role (while also continuing his Air India Chief Commercial Officer duties), thus enabling greater coordination of the Group’s network and commercial efforts,” Wilson said.

Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India.

To ensure operational synergy between the airlines, Air India Chief Operations Officer Captain Basil Kwauk will replace Wilson on the Air India Express board after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.

A senior Air India Express official on Tuesday said the latest change in the board structure simply reflects the natural progression of the airline’s growth plan.

With the guidance provided by Campbell to craft a shared vision and purpose, and Air India Express now established as a dominant airline in the domestic and short haul international markets, the focus going forward would be to enable seamless coordination between the Air India and Air India Express network and commercial areas, while ensuring operational synergy, the official said.

Tata Group took over the loss-making Air India, and Air India Express from the government in January 2022.

In the last over 18 months, Tata Group has completed merger of four airlines into two and consolidated non-flying teams in Gurugram. “We’ve also worked hard to improve the communication, collaboration and coordination between our full service and low cost airlines across all functions, for the benefit of each airline and the Group overall,” Wilson said.

“I will obviously remain keenly interested in Air India Express’s progress and success, fully support Nipun and Basil in their additional roles, and remain responsible for the overall performance of the Air India Group,” Wilson said in the message.

Air India has embarked on an ambitious five-year transformation plan. PTI RAM IAS SHW