IndiGo on Tuesday named DG of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and former British Airways (BA) chief William Walsh as its new CEO.
Airline promoter and MD Rahul Bhatia had assumed charge as CEO in the interim after Pieter Elbers’ resignation last month with immediate effect. Elbers, then KLM president and CEO of KLM, was brought to IndiGo about four years ago to expand its international footprint. While the foreign footprint expanded substantially following the Dec schedule collapse, Elbers put in his papers. Bhatia had said the schedule collapse “should never have taken place”.
Now, IndiGo has chosen an industry veteran who can help it expand globally. Walsh, who will take charge in Aug, is a trained pilot who has been the CEO of Aer Lingus, British Airways, and then of International Airlines Group, which is a holding company that owns these two airlines along with Iberia, Level and Vueling. He began his career in aviation as a cadet pilot with Aer Lingus in 1979.