Air India: Air India-Vistara merger complete; Now fleet of 300 aircraft, 5600 weekly flights, know everything

After the merger of Vistara with Air India, the aviation business of the Tata Group reached a new level. Air India and Vistara have issued a statement informing about the completion of the merger process. After the merger, Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said that the merger of Vistara with the airline completed the restructuring phase after the privatization of the Air India Group. After the merger, Air India’s fleet has also become wider than ever.

Air India informed about the completion of Vistara’s merger process

Air India said on Tuesday that the merger of full service provider Vistara with it has been completed and the integrated entity will operate more than 5,600 weekly flights connecting more than 90 destinations. With the merger, Singapore Airlines’ stake in the expanded Air India will increase to 25.1 percent.

A statement said, “Air India Group has completed the operational integration and legal merger between Air India and Vistara, making the airline a large-scale full-service carrier. This marks an important milestone in the post-privatisation transformation journey. This merger follows the merger of the group’s low-cost airlines Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly Air Asia India) on October 1, 2024.” Vistara was a joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines. Air India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said that this merger completes the consolidation and restructuring phase of the Air India Group’s post-privatisation transformation journey and is thus an important milestone. He said, “Over the last two years, the teams of all four airlines have worked together and with other stakeholders to ensure that the transition of people, assets, operations and most importantly customers is as seamless as possible.” Tata Group acquired loss-making Air India from the government in January 2022. Tata Group-owned Air India, which has merged full-service carrier Vistara with it, has a total of 67 wide-body aircraft, including seven of Vistara’s. The amalgamated entity of Air India and Vistara is India’s largest international carrier and second-largest domestic airline. The company has 210 aircraft flying to 91 destinations and 174 routes with a weekly flight load of around 5,600, sources said. The Tata Group also owns Air India Express, which on October 1 completed the merger of AIX Connect with it.

Air India has a fleet of 80 narrow-body and 60 wide-body aircraft, while Vistara has 63 narrow-body and seven wide-body aircraft. Air India Express has 90 narrow-body aircraft. In all, the Air India Group has 300 aircraft and serves 103 destinations – 55 domestic and 48 international.

Sources said the group currently operates on 312 routes, including 160 domestic and 152 overseas routes. The total number of flights per week is around 8,500. The group’s fleet includes Boeing 777-300 ER, 777-200 LR, 787-8, 787-9, A320 family aircraft and A350. According to the latest official data, Air India, Vistara and AIX Connect had a domestic market share of a little over 29 per cent in September. The group is expanding its operations and more aircraft will be added in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Air India pilots made in-flight announcements on Tuesday, saying that today is a very special milestone with the merger of Vistara and asserted that “Vistara’s distinctive in-flight experience will continue in the Vistara fleet”.

Vistara’s fleet will be identified by the merged ‘AI2’ code. According to the Air India announcement, “With over 5,500 international and domestic weekly flights, a new Maharaja Club loyalty programme and a growing and changing fleet, we are excited to offer you more destinations and a better travel experience.”