Air India receives approval to merge Vistara with itself

In November 2022, the Tata Group announced the consolidation of its airlines, Vistara and Air India. It was then announced that Vistara would be merged with Air India after the requisite approvals were received. As part of the merger transaction, SIA will invest INR 2,059 crores (USD 252 Million) in Air India. After the consolidation, SIA will hold a 25.1% shareholding in Air India. The transaction was aimed to be completed by March 2024. However, there has been a delay.

two airplanes on the runway

Air India receives the final go-ahead to merge Vistara with itself.

Many discussions have been ongoing about the merger of Air Vistara with Air India. Things have reached the crescendo, with airline executives at both airlines promising Vistara executives to deliver their secondment letters in the coming days, a fact mentioned by a few Vistara associates I’ve met at various industry fora over the past weeks as well. There has also been an announcement for the Club Vistara merger into Air India Flying Returns.

Air India and all the associated entities have received the final order from the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT) about the impending merger of Air India and Vistara. You can read the full order here.

In simple language, page 28 of 31 says that the rest of the process will have to be completed within nine months. In reality, the intention is to close out the process by the end of 2024.

At the IATA AGM, Air India and Tata executives happened to mention that the Vistara brand will be retired by the end of 2024, given that the Air Operator Certificate of Vistara will expire by mid-December 2024.

The process that remains is to acquire the approvals to transfer money to the Tata Group and have Singapore Airlines acquire a 25.1% share in the Air India Group.

Bottomline

Things are going to move fast now on the merger between Air Vistara and Air India. The airline group has received the final approval from the NCLT to merge the airlines, and while the official timeline is 9 months, we should see it move quicker than that.

What do you make about the merger between Vistara and Air India?


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About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Comments

  1. Any hint of job losses? I don’t think there is and everyone will be absorb but if they have any hidden plans to cut numbers, that could throw a curveball with the unions no doubt agitating…

    • @Dev, there has already been some natural attrition with people not wanting to head to AI and heading to other places. Apparently some people might be sent to AIX as well, and some might have to be upskilled for some roles.

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