Air India's new CEO faces financial and safety turbulence
The aftermath of last's year deadly crash and mounting financial losses will be Gebremariam's main challenges.
Air India has appointed Tewolde Gebremariam as its new CEO, seeking to tackle the airline's financial and safety challenges. Gebremariam previously led Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's largest regional carrier, for over a decade, where he expanded the fleet and increased profitability. Air India, owned by Tata Group since 2022, has faced heavy financial losses, with a record loss of nearly $2.3bn in April.
The airline operates 198 aircraft and flies nearly 5,000 weekly flights to 91 destinations globally. Gebremariam was unanimously chosen by the board after an extensive search, with Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran expecting him to lead the airline into a new phase of growth. Despite facing a series of safety and operational issues, including the fatal crash in Ahmedabad-London last June, Gebremariam expressed his enthusiasm to build a world-class global airline reflecting India's economic potential.
Experts believe Gebremariam's experience in navigating crises, such as the 2019 Boeing 737 Max crash and the Covid pandemic, make him the ideal leader for Air India. However, turning the airline around could take up to a decade, with the final crash report due in October.
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