Air India was privatized several years ago, in hopes of returning to its glory days, in terms of both customer service and profitability. Campbell Wilson was tapped as CEO when the airline was privatized, and while he has some accomplishments to show for his tenure, things are still very far from perfect, especially on the profitability front (which is a nightmare).
In April 2026, we learned how Wilson would be resigning from his role as CEO, and the company worked on finding a replacement. Well, his replacement has just been revealed, and it’ll be Tewolde Gebremariam, the former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.
In this post:
The objective was to “identify a leader with a proven record of managing mega-scale airline turnarounds, delivering operational excellence, fostering a strong culture of safety and service, and driving profitable expansion.”
The board concluded that Gebremariam was the right man for the job, as he “possesses the ideal combination of leadership, deep operational expertise, and strategic execution capability required for Air India’s next phase of growth.”
Gebremariam spent over a decade as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, where he “spearheaded a multi-billion-dollar expansion, transforming a regional carrier into Africa’s largest, most profitable, and decorated airline group—growing revenue by more than fourfold and fleet size nearly threefold.”
I think this part of the announcement is pretty important, in terms of understanding the mandate that he is being given:
As Air India shifts from its foundational turnaround phase into a high growth & profitable execution phase, Mr. Gebremariam brings crucial capabilities required for Air India’s next leg of journey. He has strong experience in expanding international long-haul networks and building world-class hub operations, an unrelenting commitment to safety standards, engineering quality, and operational reliability. He also has a track record of driving sustained profitability, while navigating complex economic cycles and dynamic global markets together with a deep experience in workforce upskilling, talent development, and embedding a high-performance, customer-first service culture.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
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