12 November marks a significant day in the Indian aviation industry. Vistara- the jointly owned carrier of the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines will merge with Air India, thus making it a part of the consolidated Air India unit.
Since its inception in 2015, Vistara has been a joint venture of Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited wherein Tata Sons holds a 51% stake in the partnership and Singapore Airlines holds a 49% stake. The partnership between the domestic and international carriers was a part of the country’s foreign direct investment norms.
The merger of these two prominent airlines will now make Vistara a consolidated Air India unit with Singapore Airlines holding a 25.1 percent stake in Air India after the merger. The merger has been a part of the Tata Group’s steel-to-salt strategy to consolidate and streamline their airline business. With this shifting aviation view, Air India now becomes the country’s sole full-service carrier.
Vistara will operate its last flights on November 11 before rebranding as Air India. Its last domestic run will be a Mumbai-Delhi flight; UK986, an Airbus A321 will take off from Mumbai’s airport at 10.50 pm on November 11 and its last international journey will be a New Delhi-Singapore flight, which is UK 115, an Airbus A321 neo, that will depart from Delhi on the same day.
Air India has reassured that there would be no compromise on the travel experience as the two Tatas-run carriers merge into one.
In a recent X (Twitter) update, the official handle of Vistara says, “As the plane ascends, so do our dreams; let’s glide toward the future, where the sky isn’t the limit, but just the beginning.”
An update by the official X handle of Air India says “With the merger and the changes that come with it, we wanted to assure you that your Vistara in-flight experience is not going away. You can continue to enjoy the same world-class fleet, exceptional service, and familiar faces under the new code AI 2XXX. And as a part of the larger transformation journey, you will discover even more to love, with a wider network, enhanced benefits, and a world of endless possibilities that await you”.
On the announcement of the merger in November 2022, Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, of Tata Sons, stated, “The merger of Vistara and Air India is an important milestone in our journey to make Air India a truly world-class airline. We are transforming Air India, with the aim of providing great customer experience, every time, for every customer. As part of the transformation, Air India is focusing on growing both its network and fleet, revamping its customer proposition, enhancing safety, reliability, and on-time performance. We are excited with the opportunity of creating a strong Air India, which would offer both full-service and low-cost service across domestic and international routes. We would like to thank Singapore Airlines for their continued partnership”.
With this development, Air India is set to become India’s leading domestic and international carrier service.
About Air India
Founded by the illustrious, J.R.D. Tata, Air India operated its first flight on October 15, 1932. Having an extensive domestic and international network, the airline networks’ are spread across the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Far East, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Gulf. Air India and Air Express were welcomed into the Tata Group in January 2022, after being a Government undertaking for 69 years.
