After six years, Tatas gaining upper hand in decision-making at budget carrier AirAsia India

As AirAsia India struggles to find a firm foothold in the competitive domestic aviation space, Tatas are gaining upper hand in steering the no-frills carrier with executives from the conglomerate helming most senior positions, according to a source. A joint venture, majority-owned by Tatas, the airline’s other shareholder is Malaysia’s AirAsia group. The carrier, which commenced flights nearly six years ago, flew 8.78 lakh passengers garnering 6.8 per cent domestic market share in November.

Over the years, there have been concerns raised in certain quarters about alleged role of the Malaysian partner having a bigger say in various matters related to AirAsia India. “Tata Sons has now an upper hand in the management of AirAsia India as against earlier when AirAsia group will call the shots in the matter of key appointments. At present, most of top positions at the carrier including the MD&CEO and CFO have people who have been closely associated with the Tata Group,” a source told PTI.

In the formative years of the airline, it was AirAsia Group which had a major say in the selection of people for all top positions, including that of the CEO and CFO, the source said. The carrier’s MD and CEO Sunil Bhaskaran and head of marketing Siddhartha Butalia are Tata Group veterans.