Air India board gave CEO Campbell Wilson a raise days before the crash
Mumbai and Bengaluru: A fortnight before the country's worst civil aviation disaster in almost three decades involving one of its flights, Tata-owned Air India's board handed its chief executive officer, Campbell Wilson, a new salary, under which he stands to earn up to ₹27.75 crore.
This would be a 46% jump from the ₹18.98 crore he earned in 2023-24, according to Air India's filings. Wilson walked into the corner room in July 2022 and was promised a salary of up to ₹21.50 crore.
The new remuneration package—which is effective 1 April 2025 and includes a fixed salary of ₹11.1 crore, ₹8.32 crore in performance-linked bonuses, and ₹8.32 crore in long-term stock incentives—was approved by the company's board on 27 May. This implies that about 60% of Wilson's current salary is tied to the airline's performance. Air India's ill-fated flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed on 12 June.
According to Air India's disclosures, the salary structure does not include benefits and allowances such as rent-free accommodation, a car, and hospitalization.
Among the highest
The raise, which comes on the back of the board's recognition of his efforts to uplift the airline and for managing a series of internal mergers, positions Wilson's pay among the highest for top airline executives in the country.
The country's largest and most valuable airline IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe, paid its CEO Pieter Elbers ₹21.61 crore in 2024, according to filings made by the company. Elbers was appointed CEO in September 2022.
Privately held Akasa Air's founder and chief executive Vinay Dube received ₹8.65 crore in 2024, according to the company's filings made to the ministry of corporate affairs. And SpiceJet's chairman and managing director, Ajay Singh, got ₹5.4 crore in 2024, according to its latest annual report.
Data from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) showed that IndiGo had a 64.1% share of domestic passenger traffic in April, followed by Air India (27.2% share), Akasa Air (5%), and Spice Jet (2.6% share), respectively.
Also read | We could have handled the delays better, says Air India CEO Campbell Wilson
'The remuneration of Mr. Wilson is commensurate with the remuneration of expatriates appointed at CEO/MD levels of similar sized multinationals taking into consideration the responsibilities shouldered by him," said a filing by privately held Air India. 'In addition to transformation of the flagship airline, Mr. Wilson successfully steered the integration of subsidiary airlines viz. Air India Express and AIX Connect into a single lowcost carrier, and the merger of Tata Sia Airlines (Vistara) with Air India."
In addition to Wilson, the seven-member board of Air India comprises Tata Sons and Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Tata Motors Ltd chief financial officer P.B. Balaji, former Hindustan Unilever chief executive Sanjiv Mehta, and former chairman of Deloitte India P.R. Ramesh. General Insurance Corp of India's former chair and managing director Alice Vaidyan and Singapore Airlines' chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong are the other board members.
An email sent to Air India seeking a comment went unanswered.
Revenue rises
Air India, which is still to file its financials for the year ended March 2025, saw its revenue jump from ₹41,261.2 crore in 2023 to ₹66,433.4 crore in 2024, a 61% increase. Losses declined from ₹13,960.4 crore to ₹7,273 crore during this year.
'I think the pay (to Wilson) is comparable and justifiable," said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of the proxy advisory firm InGovern Research Services. 'This is because Air India's challenges are more complex and it is still completing the merger with Vistara. It is going through a transition and faces challenges of fleet upgradation and employee unions. The biggest challenge is developing customer trust."
To be sure, the biggest challenge for the airline is regaining people's trust. On 12 June, an Air India flight to London crashed seconds after takeoff from the Ahmedabad airport, resulting in the deaths of more than 240 passengers and crew, and several more on the ground.
Also read | Will learn, emerge stronger from plane tragedy: Air India CEO in letter to staff
Reports of the deaths, amplified by non-stop social media visuals, have shaken flyers' confidence and prompted many to cancel travel plans and dump Air India tickets,Mintreported on 19 June.
Air India also faces risks, including delays in the 500-plus planes it has ordered. Additionally, the crash earlier this month has led to the DGCA inspecting its fleet of 33 Dreamliner 787-8 and 787-9 planes. Further, geopolitical skirmishes have led Air India to re-route some planes and even reduce the number of flights.
Tata Sons spent ₹18,000 crore to buy Air India from the Indian government in January 2022. Subsequently, it merged Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Ltd, with Air India. Consequently, Singapore Airlines became a 25.1% shareholder, while Tata Sons owns 74.9%.
Also read | Air India sees a revenue goldmine in long-haul transit traffic
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