The hunt for Air India’s next chief executive appears to be entering its final stretch. According to a Reuters report published on May 2, 2026, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the contest has narrowed to two names — Singapore Airlines’ Vinod Kannan and Air India’s CCO, Nipun Aggarwal. This comes on the back of Campbell Wilson resigning, a move confirmed by Air India less than a month ago.
Reuters reports that the Tata Sons board, which controls the airline, is actively deliberating between the two candidates, though no final call has been made and a dark-horse pick has not been ruled out. Tata Sons did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, Air India declined to comment, and neither candidate replied to messages seeking a response.
How did we get here?
The search was set in motion last month when Campbell Wilson, the New Zealander who had been running Air India since the Tata Group reclaimed the airline from the government, stepped down. Per Reuters, Wilson’s exit came against a backdrop of persistent losses and intensifying regulatory scrutiny — a difficult inheritance for whoever takes the corner office next.
Singapore Airlines, it is worth remembering, owns roughly a quarter of Air India today. The remainder sits with Tata Sons. That ownership structure is part of why a Singapore Airlines executive is in the running at all — and why, in practice, the next CEO will need the confidence of both shareholders.
The case for Vinod Kannan
If the name rings a bell for readers in India, it should. Kannan was the CEO of Vistara — the Tata–Singapore Airlines joint venture that was eventually folded into Air India — before moving to his current role as Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Singapore Airlines. Born in India, Vinod is one of the youngest people to climb the ladder at Singapore Airlines, and having been around India, he knows the challenges of Air India.
For Tata Sons, Kannan offers a rare combination: deep familiarity with Singapore Airlines’ service philosophy and operating playbook, and recent first-hand experience of running an Indian full-service carrier through a merger. Few candidates anywhere in the world tick both those boxes.
The case for Nipun Aggarwal
Aggarwal, the internal candidate, has been at Air India since January 2022 — essentially from the day Tata took the keys back from the government. Nipun has been at the helm of Air India’s affairs since day one, having played many important roles, including bringing Air India ‘home’ to Tata Sons. From there, he became the airline’s CCO and played an important role in negotiating the massive deal with Airbus and Boeing for the fleet refresh of Air India and Air India Express. He currently serves as the Chairman of Air India Express and oversees marketing, loyalty, and many other functions at the airline.
His pitch, in effect, is continuity. Aggarwal has been close to the merger integration, fleet renewal, network rebuild, and commercial overhaul from the inside. Promoting him would signal that Tata Sons wants to stay the course rather than reset the strategy.
What does the next CEO walk into?
Whoever gets the nod is inheriting one of the toughest jobs in global aviation right now. Air India is still losing money, it is under heightened regulatory scrutiny following last year’s fatal crash, and its operations have been squeezed by the costs and rerouting pressures arising from the war in Iran. Layered on top of all of that is Pakistan’s airspace ban on Indian carriers, in place since April last year, which continues to drive higher block times and fuel burn on flights to Europe and North America.
In other words, the next chief executive will need to deliver financial discipline, regulatory rehabilitation, and operational resilience — all at the same time.
Bottomline
If Tata Sons is looking for steadier hands and a sharp commercial focus to nurse the airline, Aggarwal is the natural pick. If the board concludes that Air India needs a CEO who has actually run a full-service Indian airline before — and who can speak Singapore Airlines’ language fluently — Kannan is hard to beat. As always with Bombay House decisions, do not be entirely surprised if a third name walks in through the side door at the last minute.
Who do you think would work better for Air India?
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Whoever it is, they need to sort out this airspace. Remember last year when they retimed Australia flights for Europe connections? Now, SYD-DEL-LHR connection times are 8hrs, 20hrs or 24hrs. Pakistan airspace is more than huge fuel costs. And don’t get into North American refueling stops.
Also, they will have to sort their LCC distinctions. Why isn’t AIX getting MAX-8-200s? They’re giving 30in pitch, while AI is putting 28in pitch planes on 6 hour SIN flights! AI has ads on planes (some ridiculously ugly) and on boarding passes, while AIX doesn’t. Now they want to cut meals form AI. And they’ve made normies think they’re the same airline. This is the polar opposite of what SQ has done with Scoot.