Captain Gustav Baldauf, the first Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Air India, has resigned from his post.

Sources indicated that Captain Baldauf will leave Air India at the end of March after serving a one-month notice period.

Captain Baldauf, who had earlier worked in senior positions in Austrian Airways and Jet Airways, was selected from among more than 40 global aviation experts who were shortlisted for the COO position in May last year.

Controversy

Captain Baldauf's appointment was not without controversy with questions being raised not only about his over Rs 3 crore annual pay package, but also his attempts to build a new team to implement the proposed turnaround plan for the state-owned airline. Captain Baldauf was appointed for a three-year term.

Earlier this month, Captain Pawan Arora, who was a key member of the turnaround plan, was forced to quit as the COO of Air India Express, the low-cost airline of Air India.

It is believed that Captain Baldauf decided to quit after various department heads who were reporting to him earlier stopped doing so now.  

Pressure also mounted on the COO because of the manner in which he had been granting media interviews accusing the Government of not giving him a free hand to run the airline.

CMD to take over

While confirming the departure of Captain Baldauf, official sources indicated that the airline's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Arvind Jadhav, will take over the functions which were being carried out by Captain Baldauf

The media had been rife with rumours about Captain Baldauf being asked to quit by the Government or being forced into a corner to take the decision of resigning on his own for some time now.

 

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