 "Air India-Vistara merger completed; Singapore Airlines gets 25.1% stake")
The Air India Group on Tuesday completed the operational and legal merger between Air India and Vistara, enabling Singapore Airlines (SIA) to hold a 25.1 per cent stake in the merged entity.
Vistara was a 51:49 joint venture between the Tata group and Singapore Airlines.
The merger follows another consolidation of the Tata Group's airlines, with the merger of low-cost carriers Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) in October.
The Air India Group, which now includes carriers such as the full-service airline Air India and the low-cost carrier Air India Express, will operate a combined fleet of 300 aircraft, covering 55 domestic and 48 international destinations. It flies across 312 routes, operating 8,300 flights every week.
“Singapore Airlines (SIA) confirms the completion of the merger of Air India and Vistara. With this, SIA now holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. The merger reinforces SIA’s multi-hub strategy and underscores its long-standing commitment to India through a direct stake in this large and rapidly growing aviation market,” SIA said in a statement.
The merger with Vistara will enable Air India to operate 5,600 weekly flights connecting 90 destinations with a fleet size of 208 aircraft. Air India Express will operate 2,700 weekly flights connecting 45 destinations with a fleet size of 90 aircraft.
Starting November 12, all Vistara aircraft will be operated under the Air India banner, identified by a special four-digit flight code beginning with “2”.
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“Given the scale and scope of this project and its unprecedented nature, I would like to acknowledge the support received from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and others in making this merger possible,” said Campbell Wilson, managing director and chief executive officer, Air India.
In 2022, the Tata group and Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that they had agreed to merge Vistara with Air India to drive synergies and capture market share in the fast-growing aviation market.