- SUMMARY
- Air India & Vistara Merger to be completed by October month.
- NCLT nod is expected soon, following which integration pace will increase.
- 2-3 months before the final merger, Vistara flight bookings will be done by Air India portal.
It seems like there will be no need to renew the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Vistara. The AOC of Vistara will expire in December 2024. But Tata Group is planning to merge the airline into Air India by October month.
Air India & Vistara Merger: Change in The Plan
Earlier, the executives of both Air India and Vistara said that the merger deadline will be pushed to 2025 so that Air India can achieve standards in line with Vistara. But now, it looks like there is a change in the plan.
According to a report published by The Hindu Business Line, both Air India and Vistara are looking to complete the merger process by October month. This will result in a massive consolidation within the Indian aviation sector.
Both airlines have filed the merger application in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The NCLT has already reserved the order. The green signal from NCLT is expected soon. Following this, the legal merger can be completed.
Air India & Vistara Preparing For Operational Merger
Air India and Vistara have received approvals from the competition authorities of India as well as Singapore. Now, both of them are merging their procedures. Both currently have separate manuals and procedures in place, which are being integrated.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the aviation safety regulator in India. Both airlines have reached out to DGCA to know about the requirements of crossover pilot training. When pilots transition from one airline to another, they are required to complete training in which they orient themselves with the protocols of the new airline.
Both airlines are in talks with DGCA to explore options for reducing the duration of this training period. They are willing to fast-track the crossover training as training numerous pilots will disrupt the schedule of Vistara.
A lot of things depend upon the green signal from NCLT. Once the nod is granted, the merger pace will increase. The integration of the airline network, schedule, and pricing will start. There are various routes, on which both Air India and Vistara operate. Fleet deployment will be simplified as well. Air India operates the Airbus A320 fleet with twin cabin configuration, while Vistara has narrowbody aircraft in three cabins as well as single cabin configuration.
A senior official told Hindu Business Line that the airlines are looking for a smooth transition to ensure that passenger satisfaction remains unaffected.
Vistara Bookings to Stop Prior to Merger
One of the most crucial challenges in this merger process will be handling the transfer of passenger records from Vistara to Air India. To simplify the process, Vistara will stop booking tickets (travel dates beyond the merger date) through its website and app. Instead, Vistara flights will be booked through the booking portal of Air India. In this way, there will be no need for the transfer of records.
The Vistara booking portal will shut down two to three months prior to the final merger date. On 14 December 2024, the AOC of Vistara will expire. It seems that there will be no need to renew it. The airline would be dissolved into Air India even before completing a decade of operations. Vistara launched operations nine years ago on 9 January 2015.
Following the merger, Air India will place its IATA code (AI) on all Vistara flights. Exactly the same as what it did to Air India Express flights recently. Singapore International Airlines, which is currently the 49% stakeholder in Vistara will be holding a 25.1% stake in merged Air India. The airline may also invest more than Rs 2,000 crore in the merged entity.
Vistara is considered the best when it comes to customer service standards. Air India is considered one of the worst. Do you think, this is the correct time to merge both airlines? Discuss in the comment section.
Thanking Note
With Inputs From The Hindu Business Line
Featured Image Credits: Vistara via Facebook
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