AirAsia India is my show: Mittu Chandilya

Interview with Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia India

His well-groomed looks and fitness regime may have attracted more attention, than his credentials for running an airline, but Mittu Chandilya, the 33-year-old CEO of Air Asia India is not letting that distract him from the task at hand. He has promised himself – and Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes – that over the next four-five years India operations would be the largest of AirAsia subsidiaries. Chandilya shares his reasons with Sudipto Dey why his non-airline background could turn out to be an advantage. Excerpts from an interaction:

After the three-city tour – Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi – earlier this month – many in the industry feel “Tony will call the shots, Mittu will execute”.  How fair is this assessment?

Not fair at all. Tony is there to give us guidance. He is an industry veteran, and if he shares some of his own experiences, we will surely try to make the most out of it. But he has made it clear – “It is your show”. All decisions have to be taken here (locally).

On our Board we have other shareholders, we will learn from their experiences too.  If you can’t learn, you don’t last in this job. In fact, several top executives in other Air Asia subsidiaries come from non-airline back ground. Tony’s idea has always been to bring in disruptive innovations.

So you don’t consider your non-airline background as a dis-advantage?
The non-airline background is an advantage.  I am a start-up and turnaround person - being disruptive is my strength. I started an FMCG business early on in my career and sold it, managed P&L account for the Asia-Pacific region for an MNC, many airlines were my client during my stint at HR and recruitment industry.  Airlines are a people business, and I am emotionally close to it, as a kid I wanted to be a pilot in the Indian Air Force.

Tony has opened up the organisation to me. In May and June I virtually lived out of a suitcase while camping at Kuala Lumpur to get an inside view of Air Asia’s operations. I spent time on the unloading ramp, even served meals along with the in-flight crew, sat through revenue management meetings, flew down to other Air Asia subsidiaries.

CEOs in Air Asia are a combination of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer.  Every CEO here needs to have a hand on the organisation, and focus on the detail.  The culture is that of a start-up. I want to create a transparent organisation which is fast-moving and entrepreneurial. I expect people to challenge me.
I have promised myself that in the next four-five years India will be the largest of Air Asia subsidiaries.  

How much time have you given yourself to replicate in India the benchmarks set in other Air Asia operations?
From day one, whenever our first flight take off.  On-time and service will be hygiene factors.  Passengers should expect to get more than what they are used to now.  Pricing and connectivity will be key differentiators.  We want to bring fares down by 25-30%.

We will add 11 aircraft every year and the average age of each aircraft would one year.  To start with we may have 80-100 employees per aircraft (similar to that of IndiGo), but bring it down to 60-65-level in one year’s time. Even as we pull costs down and drive revenues up, we have to get the balance right.

I want an office right at the airport, see our planes fly out, and see what our passengers and employees go through every day.  

Had a chance to fly with your peers?
Yes, I have flown with almost all of them. Whenever I travel I try to pick a different airline.

Has the India launch taken a toll on your fitness regime?
I sleep well, get time for family and training. I carry by running shoes whenever I travel. I run three kilometres every day and do weight training. You got to have a balance in life.