Vistara will operate under the Air India name and be part of Air India Group, which includes low-cost airlines Air India Express and AIX Connect, formerly Air Asia India, which were absorbed on 1 October.
The merger is the latest stage of a five-year plan following privatisation of Air India in 2022, which is now owned by India’s industrial giant Tata. It sees Singapore Airlines, which held a 49% share in Vistara, become a 25.1% shareholder in Air India Group.
The main Air India brand will be full service, operating more than 5,600 weekly flights to more than 90 domestic and international destinations with a fleet of 208 aircraft.
The merger with Vistara has taken more than two years and seen the induction of more than 6,000 Vistara staff into a new organisation structure, with $400 million being spent on refurbishment of aircraft interiors as part of a product upgrade.
Campbell Wilson, Air India managing director and chief executive, said, “The merger of Air India and Vistara completes the consolidation and restructuring phase of the Air India Group’s post-privatisation transformation journey, and is thus a significant milestone.”
Vistara was established by Singapore Airlines and Tata in 2013, with Tata holding a controlling 51% share. Tata then took a 100% stake in Air India in 2022, buying it for £1.7 billion from the Indian government following years of heavy losses.
