Singapore Airlines CEO set to join board of Air India

Mumbai | New Delhi: Following the dissolution of Vistara, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has nominated its chief executive officer, Goh Choon Phong, as its representative on the board of Air India, people familiar with the matter said. Additionally, PB Balaji, group CFO at Tata Motors, is also joining the airline's board, the people said.

The appointments will be taken up and approved by the Air India board after the civil aviation ministry gives its consent to SIA's investment into Air India, which will give it a 25.1% stake in the airline.

Vistara, a joint venture of SIA and Tata Group, is being merged into Air India effective 12 November.

"We can confirm that SIA will have a seat on the Air India board once the transaction has been completed. Our board nominee will be announced at the appropriate time," said a spokesperson for SIA. Air India did not respond to ET's queries.

The board of Air India is slated to hold a meeting to discuss key areas on the way forward post the official merger of the airlines, the people said.

Goh joined SIA in 1990 and has held senior management positions in various divisions in Singapore and overseas, ranging from marketing to information technology to finance and cargo. Goh is also the chairman of Budget Aviation Holdings Pte Ltd, which oversees SIA's low-cost subsidiary Scoot.

Balaji, who joined Tata Motors in November 2017, also got noted for his contributions in steering the financial turnaround of Tata Motors.

Tatas will have the pilot's seat in Air India with key management roles being appointed by the salt-to-steel conglomerate. SIA will send its officials for deputation in flight operations and engineering.

Meanwhile, Hamish Maxwell, a SIA employee who headed flight operations for Vistara, has been appointed as chief operating officer at Air India Express- the low-cost arm of Air India.

"SIA will send some more officials on secondment to Air India as the airline grows its multi-hub strategy," a person aware of the process said.

The two airlines finalised their merger plan in November 2022.

Tatas had sought approval from SIA to bid for Air India on the agreement that the latter would get a stake and position on board of Air India.

Tata Group has merged Vistara into Air India for operational and cost efficiencies. Through this merger, the Air India group will have a combined market share of 29% in the Indian market, giving SIA a strong presence in one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets.

SIA's multi-hub strategy includes having equity partnerships in airlines in different countries as the domestic market of Singapore is negligible.

"Our multi-hub strategy is really to enable us to participate directly in the growth in that particular region or country, in a way that we cannot do if we are just based in Singapore. Vistara operates 11 international points from India. Singapore Airlines will never be able to operate from India to domestic India, nor to so many international points from India," Phong had earlier said, justifying SIA's investment in India.