N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, has been appointed as the chairman of Air India by the airline's board, aviation industry sources. The group had on October 8 last year won the bid to acquire debt-laden state-run Air India by offering £1.8 billion for it.
Tata Sons is yet to appoint the chief executive officer and managing director (CEO&MD) of Air India. Sources said Chandrasekaran's appointment as the chairman of the airline was cleared by its board last week.
The conglomerate had on February 14 announced that former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci will be the CEO&MD of Air India. On March 1, Ayci declined the Tata Sons' offer stating that “some sections of the Indian media” have attempted to “colour” his appointment in an undesirable manner.
Ayci is considered to be close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Pakistan, which led to a controversy once his appointment was announced. While the airline has lucrative landing slots, debt-laden Air India faces an uphill task to upgrade its aging fleet and turn around its financials and service levels.
