Air India today announced the appointment of Capt Klaus Goersch in a newly created role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer that will oversee Flight Operations, Engineering, Ground Operations, Integrated Operations Control (IOCC), and Cabin Crew functions.

Capt Goersch is a licensed B777/787 pilot who has previously held similar positions in both British Airways and Air Canada and will be based out of Air India’s new headquarters in Gurugram. Incumbent Chief of Operations Capt RS Sandhu, who had already extended his service with Air India beyond his superannuation date, will transition to an advisory role with a particular focus on the harmonization of the four Tata airlines’ operating procedures, the Airbus A350 entry-into-service program and assisting the team establishing Air India’s new Training Academy.

Welcoming Capt Goersch onboard, Campbell Wilson, CEO & Managing Director of Air India, said, “We are pleased to have Klaus join the Air India family. Having worked at some of the best airlines in the world, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that is valuable to the ongoing transformation at Air India. At Air India, we remain committed to building top leadership as we continue to invest in all the resources that are required to take the airline to the upper echelons of global aviation.”

Air India also announced other senior announcements to further strengthen its management team. Capt Manish Uppal, who transitioned from Air Asia India a few months ago, has been appointed as Senior Vice President of Flight Operations, while Capt Henry Donohoe’s Corporate Safety, Security, and Quality role will be expanded to include Emergency Response and be retitled Senior Vice President Safety, Security and Quality.

Mr. Pankaj Handa joins to lead Ground Operations, Mr. Choorah Singh joins as Divisional Vice President of Integrated Operations Control, and Ms JuLi Ng joins as Divisional Vice President of Cabin Crew.  Mr. Handa, Mr Singh and Ms Ng will report to Capt Goersch, as will Capt Uppal and Mr. Sisira Kanta Dash, Senior Vice President of Engineering. 

Concurrently, the Inflight Product & Service Design functions headed by Mr Sandeep Verma will move to Mr. Rajesh Dogra's Customer Experience portfolio so that the latter has oversight of all customer interfaces.

Capt Goersch, Mr Dogra and Capt Donohoe will report directly to Mr Wilson, as will existing Management Committee members Mr Nipun Aggarwal, Dr Satya Ramaswamy, Dr Suresh Dutt Tripathi and Mr Vinod Hejmadi, whose roles remain unchanged.

“These changes have been made with a view to managing succession, streamlining the organization, optimizing talent from within the Tata airline group and positioning it strongly for future growth and success,” Mr Wilson added.