Tata Sons is rushing to complete the integration of Air India and Vistara and operate as a single airline by the end of this year, people familiar with the matter said.
They added that both the airlines have approached the civil aviation regulator and started working on merging their operations manuals and transfer of flying crew from one airline to the other.
The merger is an effort by the salt-to-steel conglomerate to simplify its aviation business. As part of that, while Air India and Vistara will be merged to create a full service airline, AirAsia India and Air India Express have been integrated to create a single low-cost airline.
Air India didn’t comment on ET’s queries sent on the topic.
“The group is eager to complete the merger as soon as possible as it will unlock synergies and give multiple benefits in running more efficient operations. There are no ifs and buts. Both Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons want to complete the merger soon,” one of the persons aware of the development, said.
The person added that the exact timeline of integration depends on how soon the approvals from regulatory authorities come.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson had earlier said that customer-facing elements, including the brand identity of Vistara won’t change before 2025. But the person quoted above said that advancing the timeline is very much possible.
“Yes, passengers love the Vistara brand but since it has been made very clear that Vistara in the long term will become Air India, there is no benefit in delaying it,” the person said.
Air India is expecting a green signal on the merger from the National Company Law Tribunal by next week. The Chandigarh bench of the NCLT has reserved the order in the case. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had earlier approved the merger between the two airlines in September 2023, allowing the Tata Group to form a single, full-service carrier.
A green signal from the NCLT will allow both the airlines to start integrating their networks, human resources and fleet deployments.
“Currently Air India and Vistara operate flights to the same destinations around the same time and use different resources at the airport like separate check in counters. The synergy will remove such duplicities and create a more efficient operation,” the person said.
A host of consultants like BCG, Sabre and Oliver Wyman are working on harmonisation of the workforce and route network.
The two airlines have different manuals and they need to be merged while flying staff of Vistara like pilots will need operator conversion courses. The duration is around 40 days.
The people said the process will be done gradually as the airlines don’t intend to ground flights as part of the process. For the non-flying staff, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan had said that they will get a clarity about their roles by May and June.
