Indian Aviation’s Biggest CEO Shake-Up

About this episode

This episode discusses the recent CEO changes in India's largest airlines, IndiGo and Air India, and the implications for the aviation industry.

In a single month, India's two largest airlines lost their CEOs. Pieter Elbers was pushed out of IndiGo following a catastrophic December 2025 meltdown that stranded 300,000 passengers and wiped 78% of profits. Campbell Wilson chose a more dignified exit from Air India, a planned departure from a carrier still bleeding billions, scarred by a fatal Ahmedabad crash, and hamstrung by a decades of legacy issues. Two expats, two very different tenures, two very different endings. In this episode, host Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET's aviation tracker Arindam Majumdar and John Strickland, a global aviation expert and founder of JLS Consulting to break down what went wrong, where both airlines stand today, Air India’s top-level void and the task ahead for Willie Walsh, one of global aviation’s toughest leaders slated to head IndiGo. You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026? , How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z , Two Women Fought to Change India's Maternity Laws...and Succeeded , Can India Truly End Naxalism? , Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big…

People in this episode

Host: Anirban Chowdhury

Guests: Arindam Majumdar, John Strickland

Topics covered

• aviation
• CEO changes
• Indian airlines
• business news
• leadership challenges

Keywords

• aviation
• CEO shake-up
• IndiGo
• Air India
• leadership
• Pieter Elbers
• Campbell Wilson
• Willie Walsh

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IndiGo, Air India

Places: India

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