India's third largest airline Vistara will operate its last flight tomorrow i.e. 11th November. Air India will operate all Vistara flights from November 12. Ticket booking for this will also be done through Air India website.
Air India and Vistara's merger deal was signed in November 2022. It was approved by the Indian regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) in September 2023.
After this merger, Air India Group became the country's second largest domestic airline and largest international airline after IndiGo in terms of market share.
The first full-service and low-cost airline
After the merger, Air India will be the only Indian airline group to operate both full-service and low-cost passenger services.
Air India (including Air India Express and Air Asia India) and Vistara have a total of 218 widebody and narrowbody aircraft, serving 38 international and 52 domestic destinations.
Vistara was launched in 2013. It is India's leading full service carrier with international operations in East-Central Asia and Europe.
Singapore Airlines added Rs. 3,194.5 crore will be invested
After this merger, Singapore Airlines will also invest an additional Rs 3,194.5 crore in Air India. The company gave this information in its exchange filing.
Tata holds 74.9% and SIA holds 25.1%
After the merger of the two airlines, Singapore Airlines' stake in Air India will increase to 25.1%. For this the company has made a direct investment of $250 million (roughly Rs. 2,096 crore). At the same time, the Tata group will have a 74.9% stake in the new venture.
Before the deal, Tata Sons held 51% stake in Vistara and Singapore Airlines 49%. The name of the new firm will be AI-Vistara-AI Express-Air Asia India Private Limited (AAIPL).
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).