Y P Teik might be Tata-SIA chief

Tata-Singapore Airlines is putting together a management team as it awaits clearance from the civil aviation ministry to start its India operations. The airline is a joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines (SIA), with a 51:49 shareholding. It will run on a full-service model, with its base in Delhi.

Yeoh Phee Teik, an SIA executive who is director of the project office in India, is tipped to be the new airline’s chief executive. He was the divisional vice-president of information technology at SIA, before moving to India.

S Varadarajan, former head of human resources at Tata Teleservices, is heading human resources at the new airline. Tata-SIA is searching for a chief financial officer and someone from within the Tata group might get selected. “The position will be filled within a month,’’ said an aviation source. Roshan Joshi, former head  of the flight operations, safety and security department at SIA, has been appointed senior vice-president (operations) of the new airline. Joshi, also an instructor on Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 fleets, was involved in developing safety and quality management systems in the parent airline. G M Toh, a former general manager of SIA in India, is part of the airline’s launch team and might be assigned a commercial role. A Tata-SIA spokesperson did not respond to an email query on the issue. The airline has selected the Airbus A320 for its operations and will be leasing 20 aircraft from BOC Aviation.

Last week, the Union home ministry granted security clearance to three board members of the airline and said it would allow constitution of the board. Prasad Menon, former managing director of Tata Chemicals, is chairman of the board. Other members include Mukund Rajan, Tata Sons’ brand custodian and chief ethics officer, and Mark Swee Wah, executive vice-president (commercial) of Tata-SIA. The clearance paves the way for a no-objection clearance from the civil aviation ministry. Then, the airline will have to apply to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for an operator’s permit. The project team is preparing the needed documentation.