AirAsia India appoints Sunmuga Kanaratnam as engineering head

Budget carrier AirAsia India today said it has appointed Malaysian national Sunmuga Kanaratnam as its head of engineering.
Kanaratnam joined the company last December and replaces incumbent Nantha Kumar, who has moved back to Malaysia to take up another position with the AirAsia group, a release said.
Kanaratnam's last assignment was with Etihad Airways, an airline spokesperson said. AirAsia India is a joint venture between Tatas and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad, which commenced operations in June 2014.
"AirAsia India is pleased to announce appointment of Sunmuga Kanaratnam to its senior management team. Kanaratnam has joined as head of engineering, replacing Nantha Kumar," the release said.

Kumar, who has been with AirAsia Group for 15 years, is instrumental in setting up the carrier and heading the engineering department for AirAsia India since February 2013. He has relocated to his home country and will pursue another position in the engineering department within the group in Malaysia, it said.
"I would like to welcome Sunmuga to our Allstar family. This is a year of continued expansion for us; and we believe Sunmugas technical expertise will help us take AirAsia to greater heights in India," AirAsia India managing director and chief executive officer Amar Abrol said.

AirAsia calls its employees as "Allstars."

In the past, he has worked with some of the leading aviation companies including British Airways, Malaysian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Monarch Aircraft Engineering, Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company, among others, the release said.
AirAsia India currently flies to 16 destinations, Kochi, Goa, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Pune, Guwahati, Imphal, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Bagdogra, Ranchi, and Bhubaneswar, with its hubs in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata.