It’s officially the end of road for Vistara! Singapore Airlines’ Board of Directors today announced the approval of the proposed merger of Vistara and Air India. The merger date has also been revealed. Read on to find out what it means for both the airlines and its passengers.
End of the road for Vistara
The Board of Directors of Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) today announced the approval of the proposed merger of Vistara and Air India. As announced earlier, SIA will hold a 25.1% stake in the merged entity.
The Board is pleased to announce that SIA has received approval from the Government of India for foreign direct investment into the enlarged AI (Air India), as part of the proposed merger.
This approval, along with other governmental and regulatory approvals received to-date, marks a significant development towards the completion of the merger.
the announcement read.
This was the last roadblock in Vistara-Air India merger, which has now been approved. With this, the official date of the merger has also been announced.
12th November 2024
Vistara will merge into Air India on 12th November 2024. The date is now set. This marks the end of the road for Vistara, an airline which has received a lot of love from its passengers.
As per X/jagritichandra, Starting 12th November 2024, Vistara’s flights and its operations will be carried out by Air India and all the bookings will be re-directed to the Air India website.
Additionally, starting 3rd September 2024, passengers will no longer be able to book tickets with Vistara for travel on or after 12th November 2024. This means that those who want to fly on Vistara one last time will be able to do so before 12th November 2024.
We still have no details regarding the rest of the aspects of this merger. The airlines earlier had announced that they received permission to integrate aircraft line maintenance operations from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This will help the airlines to “enhance operational performance, reduce aircraft turnaround times, and bolster on-time performance”.
The details for the merger are as follows:
- Nothing changes for those who are booked on Vistara between now and 11th November 2024
- For flights on or after 12th November 2024, Vistara’s flight numbers will be changed into Air India’s, even though the schedule, aircraft and operating crew will remain unchanged in almost all cases, until early 2025 at least
- Those booked on Vistara flights on or after 12th November 2024 will automatically have their reservations converted to Air India (this will happen in phases in September and passengers will be informed personally)
- From 3rd September 2024, those looking to book Vistara flights departing on or after 12th November via Vistara’s website will progressively be redirected to Air India’s site to complete the booking
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Is Air India up to the level of Vistara right now?
At the start of this merger between the two Tata Group-airlines, one senior executive said that they will bring Air India up to the level of Vistara first and then they will go ahead with the merger. Now that the date for the merger has been revealed, the same question arises. Is Air India up to the level of Vistara?
Well, we can’t say anything for sure. One thing I think we all can agree on is that Air India has a lot of catching up to do. Indian aviation is tough and surviving in this market is tougher. The Tatas are one of the most experienced people in the aviation industry. What I think they are doing wrong is that they are looking at expanding aggressively rather than simply improving what they currently have.
Air India has a lot of issues to work on. Vistara was built with a vision to bring back the good old times of flying in India and it did so successfully to a certain extent. Air India has a legacy that is unmatched. However, to bring back the good old days of flying in this modern era is not a small task. It has been two and a half years since the Tata Group took over Air India and certain changes are expected but they aren’t.
Vistara has had a good run until now. However, the end is near. Indian aviation will surely lose one of its priced assets in the near future, but will another priced asset rise to the occasion we all are expecting with bated breath? It all remains to be seen.
Featured image by Air India
What are your views on the Air India-Vistara merger? Let me know in the comments section below.
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