The Tata Group is preparing a 100-day plan to improve operational and service standards of Air India, under the watch of an expatriate chief executive, with the name of former Delta president Fred Reid emerging as the favourite among the shortlisted candidates for the CEO post, the Economic Times mentioned in a report.
As part of the 100-day plan for the national carrier it is set to take over from the government, the salt-to-software conglomerate aims to improve its on-time performance, as well as issues related to passenger complaints and call centres.
“As part of the 100-day plan, the aim is to improve basic service standards. While these issues cannot be improved completely during the first 100 days, improvements can happen. Also, these numbers (on-time performance, passenger complaints, etc.) are reported monthly, and any improvement will be for everyone to see,” the financial publication quoted a person in the know of the plans as saying.
The Tata Group said it would not comment on the matter. “The Air India share purchase transaction is currently underway. We are working with the government of India to complete the process. We will refrain from commenting on any speculation till such time the deal is concluded,” the Tata Group said in an emailed response to ET’s questions.
The Tata Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Talace, won a bid to acquire the entire stake in Air India, its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and a 50% holding in ground-handling company AISATS. The government plans to transfer Air India to the group by the third week of January.
According to data for October released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Air India was the third highest in terms of passenger complaints. It also operated the lowest number of flights on time among carriers in India.
The Tata Group has reportedly shortlisted a few candidates to lead the airline as its CEO, and Reid is the favourite among the shortlisted candidates, the person cited above said.
While the Tata Group has stakes in two joint-venture airlines — Vistara and AirAsia India — the person said the group doesn’t have any aviation expertise on its own. “It was always clear that an expat CEO will be brought in to implement the integration of Air India and prepare its future plans. Reid has been shortlisted for the job,” the person told the business daily.
The group’s choice to enlist an expatriate to pilot the privatised airline should be seen in the context of the flagship carrier competing with fresh vigour under the new ownership against global airlines. The main battle will be fought to increase market share in the overseas routes and thus an expatriate with deep international aviation experience would be ideal to lead the charge.
Reid is a civil aviation industry veteran who has worked with Delta as its president and was involved in the launch of Virgin America as its CEO. He was till recently with Airbnb and is currently president at Surf Air Mobility and is based in California, US.
Worth mentioning here is that the Tata Group is planning to complete the purchase of the remaining 16% share held by AirAsia Berhad in AirAsia India before Air India is transferred by the government to the group.
