Air India Has 'Enormous' Potential: CEO Campbell Wilson

Air India has "enormous" potential and efforts are on to make the group a significant international player, its CEO Campbell Wilson said on Monday. Addressing the media virtually, Wilson further said the process of integration of Vistara with Air India is underway and is now awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The integration of Air India Express and AIX Connect, earlier known as AirAsia India, is also underway. Air India has enormous potential and unprecedented opportunities. The group is working on becoming a significant international player, he said.

On February 14, Air India announced placing an order for 470 planes, including 70 wide-body aircraft. Wilson said the funding would be through a combination of various sources. The Tata Group took over Air India in January last year. Air India has placed an order for 470 planes with Airbus and Boeing, and there is also an option to acquire another 370 aircraft.

Out of the firm order for 470 planes, 250 are from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. "We don't have a timeline... will evaluate the market," Wilson said with respect to exercising the option to purchase another 370 planes.