AI's new boss plots course through money trouble

Mumbai: Air India's new chief executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, is steering the airline towards financial improvement, with revenue growth, cost containment, and enhanced synergies across the expanded group as top priorities. During his inaugural town hall meeting with employees, Gebremariam emphasized the need to enhance top line, middle line, and bottom line performance. The airline aims to boost revenue per available seat kilometre, a crucial metric representing earnings from its operational capacity.

Gebremariam highlighted the importance of controlling expenses, emphasizing that cost management should not fall solely on finance or senior management. Every employee must contribute to cost discipline throughout the organization. He also advocated for operating the airline and its subsidiaries as a unified group, striving for maximum synergies within the Air India Group.

The CEO addressed the need for safety and operational reliability, pledging to improve punctuality, baggage handling, and disruption recovery to restore customer confidence. Gebremariam reiterated that Air India would pursue growth cautiously, taking into account fleet availability, network requirements, and profitability.