Air India CEO's pay rises to Rs 27.75 crore days before tragic crash in Ahmedabad

Air India's Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson witnessed a 46% hike in his paycheck a fortnight before the airline's worst crash in Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025. The Tata-owned company increased the salary of Wilson from Rs 18.98 crore in fiscal year 2024 to Rs 27.75 crore in FY 2025.

Wilson's salary package includes a fixed salary of Rs 11.1 crore, performance-linked bonuses of Rs 8.32 crore, and long-term stock incentives of Rs 8.32 crore with effect from April 1, 2025.

According to the Livemint report, Wilson's pay package is among the highest for top airline executives in the country.

Rebuilding Trust: Air India's dual challenge of safety and reliability

Budget airline IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe paid salary to CEO Pieter Elbers Rs 21.61 crore in 2024.

On the other hand, Akasa Air's founder and CEO Vinay Dube's remuneration was Rs 8.75 crore in 2024 while SpiceJet's chairman and managing director, Ajay Singh, salary package was Rs 5.4 crore in the same period.

Meanwhile, the aviation safety watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has increased scrutiny of Air India's aircraft, crew training duty hours, etc following the tragic crash, which killed 241 people on board and over 30 on the ground.

Air India’s Tragic Setback: Tata-led airline brand under scanner

The Tata-owned airline has also reduced its operation temporarily with 118 weekly flights on 19 routes in order to focus on maintenance and safety compliance during this period.

Tata Sons spend Rs 18,000 crore to buy government-owned Air India, via its fully owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited (“Talace)” in 2022. Later, it merged Vistara airline at a 51:49 joint venture between the salt-to-steel conglomerate and Singapore Airlines with Air India.

Tata Group pledges Rs1 Crore to families of Air India crash victims in Ahmedabad

The Tata Group has made several efforts to rebrand Air India after taking control of the airline. The Group signed an agreement in 2023, acquiring 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. Air India's orders include 34 A350-1000, six A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Beoing 737MAX narrowbody aircraft.