Air India's CEO search: COO Nipun Aggarwal emerges as top contender

Air India's Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal has emerged as a leading internal candidate to succeed Campbell Wilson as Chief Executive Officer of the Tata Group-owned carrier, as reported by the Economic Times.

Wilson, who joined Air India in May 2022 from Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary Scoot, has stepped down and is serving his notice period. He resigned more than a year before his original contract end date of July 2027. Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran is personally overseeing the search for a successor, with both internal and international candidates under active consideration.

Sings That Nipun Could Succeed

In an attempt to simplify network and commercial services between the two airlines, rumors of a leadership change at Air India began as early as April 2025. This started when Wilson resigned as Chairman of Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary, and was replaced by Nipun Aggarwal, per Business Today.

According to an industry report by Business Today, "Nipun Aggarwal's appointment as chairman of Air India Express halfway through the transformation plan was a clear signal that something was not working well for Wilson."
Aggarwal was the Senior Vice President of Tata Sons, headquartered in India, prior to his joining Air India, where he helped in revamping several companies within the Tata Group. He has also served in top managerial positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered Bank, and BP PLC.

A Turnaround Under Pressure

The four years of Wilson were marked by the ambitious Vihaan.AI transformation plan - a five-year roadmap announced in 2022 to rebuild Air India from the ground up. Phase one also included a (400 million) aircraft refurbishment project, a (200 million) IT infrastructure project, and six new international routes.

As per the reports of The Print, Air India has ordered 470 airplanes (250 Airbus and 220 Boeing) in June 2023, one of the largest buying programmes in the history of world aviation.

However, the numbers tell a painful story. The Air India Group consolidated revenue rose to ₹78,636 crore in FY25, a growth of approximately 13.5 percent/year, but consolidated net losses grew to ₹10,859 crore. Bloomberg estimated that the carrier started 2026 with a loss of at least 150 billion rupees (approximately 1.6 billion dollars), its largest annual loss since the Tata takeover

Operational Headwinds Stack Up

Wilson's leadership faced serious headwinds as global supply chain problems slowed the turnaround plan. Delays in aircraft deliveries and refurbishment of older planes affected service quality and punctuality, particularly on long-haul routes to Europe and North America.

Wilson himself acknowledged the shortcomings, stating:

The government reports quoted by Reuters show that the technical incidents rate rose to 1.09 per 1,000 flights in early 2026, compared to 0.26 a year prior. 82.5 percent of the inspected planes had repeat technical issues, bringing in fresh challenges for the national carrier.

What Comes Next: The Numbers Don't Wait

Official data shared in Parliament confirmed that Air India and Air India Express together reported a combined pre-tax loss of ₹9,568.4 crore for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025.

Reports by Skift show that the airline's original profitability target will likely shift beyond the Vihaan AI window, pushing break-even expectations toward FY2029 or FY2030.

Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has reportedly taken a distinctly hands-on role in the CEO search, personally engaging with potential successors from global carriers, and Air India Express could also see leadership changes. Whoever leads Air India next inherits a carrier mid-transformation, with 500+ aircraft on order, a $1.6 billion annual loss on the books, and the weight of India's flag-carrier ambitions on their shoulders