AirAsia picks Mittu Chandilya as CEO for India ops

AirAsia India today took another step to launch its much-talked about operations with the appointment of Mittu Chandilya as the chief executive officer, a decision which will now allow the company to seek an air operator's permit.

The 33-year-old Chennai-born, Singapore-based Chandilya, who is a management consultant, will assume office on June 1, AirAsia India said in a statement issued from Chennai.

Chandilya's last appointment was as the head of the Asia-Pacific division of global search firm Egon Zehnder International, which is focused on advisory leadership in aviation, travel and hospitality, among others.

Commenting on the appointment, Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, "I am extremely pleased that the board of AirAsia India has appointed Chandilya as the CEO. I am confident that he will provide the leadership and bring to bear his entrepreneurial skills in successfully growing this new airline in the Indian aviation space."

Air Asia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes, who broke the news in a Tweet earlier in the day, said, "Chandilya is an outstanding young man with great entrepreneurial skills. He is very passionate about the LCC business and possesses the crucial understanding on how our business model works."

"India is an important market for us, and a CEO of Mittu's stature and business acumen would definitely help us to attain significant market share and achieve rapid growth in this market," Fernandes said in a statement.

It can be noted that the aviation ministry has for the past few weeks been seeking names of AirAsia India's top officials, including CEO and other directors, for mandatory security clearances before it approves the proposal to launch flight operations.

Post-approval, the airline has to move aviation regulator DGCA to get its flying permit or the scheduled operator permit.