William Walsh: IndiGo's New CEO

0:00On April 1, India's biggest airline, Indigo, just tapped Aviation Pro, William Walsh as his new chief executive. This comes weeks after the last CEO, Peter Elbers, stepped down on March 10th for personal reasons. Walsh steps in, come August, right after wrapping up his gig as head of the International Air Transport Association. The shakeup ties back to a massive meltdown last month when new pilot rest rules hit. Indigo underestimated how many pilots they need, leading to thousands of cancelled flights, the worst chaos in their 20-year run. Co-founder Rahul Bhattia jumped in as interim boss to steady the ship. Travers got hit hard, with delays in cancellation snarling routes across India. The airline owns the blame for poor planning on those fatigue rules meant to keep crews safe. Folks were fuming, but it exposed bigger gaps in the industry. Walsh brings heavy credentials. He ran British airways from 2005, climbed the ranks at its parent group for 15 years, and even started as a pilot at Air Lingus back in the late 1970s.

1:06Indigo's chair says his track record in tough markets fits perfect for their growth push. With over 400 planes and thousands of daily flights, mostly domestic but eyeing more international spots, Indigo set to rebound under. Walsh expects smarter ops and less drama as they chase that top spot in global skies. This has been Global News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey, with the story.