Singapore Airlines moves some employees into Air India: Report

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has reportedly moved some of its employees into Air India, placing its executives in key roles across flight operations, engineering and maintenance in recent months. This move will increase Singapore Airlines' operational involvement in Air India as the carrier faces record losses and concerns over recent safety lapses.

According to a report in Bloomberg that quoted sources, Singapore Airlines, known globally for its standards in these areas, has taken a more direct role within Air India. Meanwhile, Tata Group, which owns 74.9 per cent of Air India, is focusing on commercial, human resources, finance and information technology functions, relying on its minority shareholder for operational support.

The report stated that this shift marks a significant increase in SIA's engagement since the Dreamliner crash, moving from a strategic partner to a more hands-on presence in India's flag carrier. Singapore Airlines expanded its involvement last year with engineering and has since extended across other functions at Air India.

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A Singapore Airlines spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the news site that they have been working closely with Tata Sons to support Air India's transformation programme since becoming a significant minority partner. 

The deeper role comes as Air India's revival, one of the most ambitious turnaround efforts in global aviation, proves more complex and costly than Tata Group expected when it acquired the airline from the Indian government in 2021. The airline is also facing setbacks such as aircraft being flown without airworthiness certificates, compliance issues flagged by European regulators, and a plane crash that led to service cuts and increased scrutiny of engineering practices.

SIA Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong and Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran met in Mumbai last week to discuss a funding roadmap and the search for a new chief executive officer after Campbell Wilson announced his resignation, as per reports.