Air India, Air India Express have hired more than 3,900 people this year, says airline chief Campbell Wilson

Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Air India chief Campbell Wilson on Friday (May 19) said the airline and Air India Express have hired more than 3,900 people, including over 500 pilots and 2,400 cabin crew members, since the start of this year.

Air India, under the stewardship of Tata Group, is revamping the airline group and hiring more people as it expands the fleet as well as operations.

Also Read | Air India to hire 500 cabin crew, 50 pilots every month for its rapid fleet expansion: CEO Campbell Wilson

“Since the start of the year more than 500 pilots, 2,400 cabin crew and 1,000 other staff have been recruited across AI and AIX. We also saw our 1,000th new cabin crew of the year commence operational duties,” Mr. Wilson said in a message to Air India employees on Friday (May 19).

He also said the teams have done a great job in ramping up the recruitment and training capabilities, travelling the country and grooming the new Air Indians.

Air India (AI) has around 11,000 employees and Air India Express (AIX) has about 1,900 people, including third party staff.

Mr. Wilson is the CEO and Managing Director of Air India.

The airline has embarked on a five-year transformation under which it seeks to expand routes, flights and increase market share in both domestic and international segments.

It has also placed firm orders for 470 aircraft, including narrow-body and wide-body planes, with Boeing and Airbus.

Last month, the airline said it was hiring more than 1,000 pilots and that more than 500 aircraft will be joining its fleet in the coming years.

“We are offering multiple opportunities and accelerated growth across our A320, B777, B787 and B737 fleet for captains and first officers, as well as trainers,” it had said.

The merger of two budget carriers — Air India Express and AIX Connect (earlier known as AirAsia India) — as well as the merger of the full service airlines — Air India and Vistara — are in progress.

Vistara is a joint venture between Air India and Singapore Airlines. Tata Group took control of Air India and Air India Express in January last year.