Indian flag carrier Air India (AI) is one of the world’s most exciting airlines and it’s interesting to see how much CEO Campbell Wilson’s Salary. Having recently completed a takeover of Vistara, their fleet consists of 208 aircraft with an additional 359 more on order. There are also ambitious plans to retrofit the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 airplanes with modern interiors which would enable AI to become a global force, as it was in the 20th century.
At the head of it all is the Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, who took over the role in 2022. The New Zealander brings a rich experience from the aviation industry to the Maharaja’s table, most prominently having held various roles at Singapore Airlines (SQ) and its low-cost subsidiary, Scoot. Here is everything you need to know about Wilson.
Who is CEO Campbell Wilson?
Campbell Wilson is currently one of the leading names in the aviation industry around the globe as he continues to spearhead Air India in the direction of becoming a global superpower. It is expected that in a few years, AI will have it in its wings to compete with the likes of Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Qatar Airways – who have set the precedent in the sky in this century.
Wilson was born in 1971 in Christchurch, New Zealand, and graduated with an MBA from the University of Canterbury. In 1996, he began working with Singapore Airlines in Auckland before pursuing roles within the airlines in Canada, Hong Kong, and Japan until 2010.
In 2011, he joined SIA’s low-cost carrier Scoot in a senior position but left five years later to pursue the vice president role at parent company Singapore Airlines’ marketing and sales department.
He would join Scoot four years afterward, in April 2020, as the CEO, spending a little over two years there before being hired by Air India in June 2022 on a five-year tenure. Very recently, he described his mission to make AI ‘world-class with an Indian heart’. On a related note, he is the chairman of Air India Express, AI’s low-cost arm, while its CEO is Aloke Singh.
Air India CEO Salary
When he was hired by Air India from Scoot in 2022, Campbell Wilson was paid an annual salary worth INR 8.5 crore (approximately US$1 million). His base compensation does not include any stock options although there are short-term incentives and long-term incentives achievable amounting to INR 6.5 crore apiece (approximately US$800,000).
In comparison, Sunil Bhaskaran, who was earlier in contention to lead Air India’s low-cost carrier Air India Express following its merger with AIX Connect is now the Head of the Air India Aviation Training Academy. He, and current AI Express CEO, Aloke Singh, are both paid INR 4.4 crore annually (approximately US$500,000).
Interestingly, there is little data to back the salary of the CEO of Air India’s biggest domestic competitor, IndiGo, Pieter Elbers. However, the Dutchman, who formerly led KLM holds performance stock units worth INR 12.5 crore (approximately US$1.5 million). It is safe to anticipate that his overall compensation would resultantly be significantly higher than Wilson’s.
Air India 2025 Plans
Air India has some very promising plans for the upcoming calendar year, 2025.
The first and foremost agenda facing the airline to bring it up to the global standard is the introduction of a competitive cabin. AI’s narrow-body planes have started undergoing a retrofit to bring it in line with Vistara’s Airbus A320s and that is a process that is expected to be completed midway through next year.
Thereafter, the upgrade works will begin on the Boeing 777s and Boeing 787s. The business class cabin will receive the most noticeable uplift as Air India will have suites on its heavies configured in a 1-2-1 layout, as opposed to the current and extremely outdated 2-3-2. Premium economy will also be added on the long-haul planes.
The strong aircraft deliveries will continue for Air India as well as its sister company Air India Express. The latter plans on receiving 20 aircraft soon and plans on expanding its wings to 55 destinations including some in Thailand, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Full-service AI, meanwhile, wants to commence more international flights and add onto its current frequencies as well.
North America is the geography where Air India has its most ambitious plans as flights to Dallas and Los Angeles are already being lined up. The rest of the world will soon follow as Africa, Australasia, and Europe firmly remain on the airline’s radar too. A significant portion of these expansion plans will hinge on how quickly new planes are delivered and older ones are revamped.
It will be interesting to see what official cues Air India has to drop and what a very vocal personality like Campbell Wilson will say towards the close of 2024 and the start of 2025.
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