Aviation veteran Alex Cruz, former chairman and CEO of British Airways, might take over as Air India CEO soon. Cruz headed the British Airways for five years till 2020, after leading Spanish low cost airline Vueling.
Cruz quit from his role in British Airways after the airline cut 13,000 jobs in October 2020, owing to the Covid-19. Later, he stepped down as chairman too. On his LinkedIn profile, Cruz identifies as an investor, board member and adviser on some companies.
An MS in industrial engineering from Ohio State University, the veteran is also a professor at the IESE Business School, ToI reported.
However, Tatas haven’t officially commented on Cruz’s appointment yet.
Air India officially went into the hands of the Tata Group last week on January 27. The new board of the airline is likely to be led by Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran himself.
The Tata Group, which along with Air India is also running Air India Express, Vistara and AirAsia India, hasn’t spelled out their plans for the airline structure. However, Vistara will continue to remain a separate entity till Singapore Airlines, which holds a 49 per cent stake in it, agrees to a merger with AI.
Days after Air India’s take over, Ratan Tata — Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and Chairman Tata Trusts, put out a welcome message for the new Air India flyers on Wednesday. Air India’s official Twitter handle posted an 18-second clip playing Ratan Tata’s welcome note. “The Tata Group welcomes Air India’s new customers.”
