Low-cost airline AirAsia India's new chief executive officer Amar Abrol, a chartered accountant having over 20 years of experience, has been a key aide to AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes.
Abrol will succeed Mittu Chandilya, who led the carrier since its inception for the past three years, with effect from April 1.
Abrol is a graduate from the Delhi University and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He was the CEO of Tune Money, an Air Asia company. Tune Money was engaged in delivering low-cost financial products in South East Asia. But Abrol spent 19 years with American Express in different capacities across Singapore, India, UK, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
In a statement Abrol said: "AirAsia India is poised for strong growth. I look forward to leading the team and together, giving many more Indians the opportunity to access the exciting promise of Indian civil aviation."
A quick look at Abrol’s LinkedIn page reveals that his strength includes cross-cultural communication and negotiation developed via "leading and participating in business dealings with prospects and business partners in UK, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia and other Asian markets." Abrol is a holder of Hong Kong Permanent ID and also has a Singapore passport.
AirAsia India, a joint venture Tata Sons, AirAsia and Telestra Tradeplace Private Ltd, was launched in June 2014 but is struggling to gain market share. As it nears two years of commercial operations, AirAsia India has a domestic market share of just 2.3 per cent and a fleet of six aircraft flying across 12 destinations. Vistara, another Tata Group-backed airline, launched much later has a fleet of nine planes.
Chandilya, it appears, had told the AirAsia India board three months ago that he will not be renewing his contract.
BW Reporters
Ashish Sinha is an experienced business journalist who has covered FMCG, auto, infrastructure, tourism, telecom among several other beats. Ashish has keen interest in the regulatory scenario impacting different sectors. He writes on aviation, railways, post and telegraph, infrastructure, defence, media & entertainment, among a wide variety of other subjects.
