India Daily: Tata Group Seeks Regulatory Nod to Merge Vistara with Air India
Photo Credit: The new entity would be branded as Air India Express. Source: Wikimedia Common/Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_India_Boeing_787-8_Dreamliner_VT-ANP_Mahatma_Gandhi_Livery.jpg Wikimedia Commons / Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon
Skift Take
Would the eventual integration of the two carriers work wonders in the Indian aviation landscape? Or would it create a culture clash?
Indian conglomerate Tata Group has sought fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India's approval for a merger between its Air India and Vistara — the company's joint venture with Singapore Airlines — into a single full service carrier called Air India. This is separate from the already underway (and regulator-approved) merger of Air India Express and Air Asia India into a single low cost carrier, named Air India Express. Tata would hold 51 percent of the total equity of the merged entity while Singapore Airlines would own a 25.1 percent minority stake, according to a filing on the regulator’s website. Air India would also absorb all Vistara employees. Vistara currently has about 5,103 employees, and around 80 percent are operational staff, including pilots, cabin crew and engineers. The merger, announced in November last year, would create a stronger rival to India's dominant carrier IndiGo and help Singapore Airlines solidify its foothold in one of the world's fast
