Tata Sons on February 14 appointed Ilker Ayci, who was until recently the chairman of Turkish Airlines, as CEO & MD of Air India.
The Air India board met to consider the candidature of Ayci and N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, was a special invitee to this board meeting, said a statement by Tata Sons. The board after due deliberations approved the appointment of Ayci, it said.
Fifty-one-year old Ayci is a 1994 alumni of Bilkent University’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration. After a research stay on political science at the Leeds University in the UK in 1995, he completed an International Relations Master’s programme at the Marmara University in Istanbul in 1997.
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Ayci is also on the board of the Turkish Football Federation, Turkish Airlines Sports Club and TFF Sportif Anonim Sirketi and Member of The Canadian Turkish Business Council and a Member of the US-Turkey Business Council, according to The Wall Street Journal. He will be assuming his responsibilities as CEO and MD on or before April 1, 2022.
N Chandrasekaran, commenting on Ayci's appointment, said that he believes Air India will be led into a new era under the leadership of Ayci.
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"Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure there. We are delighted to welcome Ilker to the Tata Group where he would lead Air India into the new era," he said.
Ilker Ayci on his appointment said, "I am delighted and honored to accept the privilege of leading an iconic airline and to join the Tata Group. Working closely with my colleagues at Air India and the leadership of the Tata Group, we will utilize the strong heritage of Air India to make it one of the best airlines in the world with a uniquely superior flying experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality".
Ayci who was named Turkish Airlines chairman in April 2015 resigned from the position in January end.
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Turkish Airlines was once one of the rising stars of global aviation, but in recent years has been beset by a number of issues, including domestic and foreign troubles. Ayci, however, in January this year, told news agency Reuters that Turkish Airlines may hit pre-pandemic passenger numbers and load factor during this year's peak summer season, but full-year figures will not surpass 2019 levels until next year.
"Turkish Airlines was one of the carriers that performed best during the high season last year. We may have a better performance this year ... compared to 2019," he said in an interview.
On January 27, the Tata Group took complete control of Air India from the government, nearly 69 years after it was taken from the conglomerate. The government had on October 8 last year sold Air India to Talace Private Limited - a subsidiary of the Tata Group's holding company - for Rs 18,000 crore following a competitive bidding process.
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