Vistara’s aircraft, crew to move to Air India on Nov 12: Campbell Wilson

WITH regulatory approvals in place, Air India chief Campbell Wilson on Friday said November 12 has been set as the date for the movement of aircraft and crew of Vistara to Air India.

Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is getting merged with Air India. Post merger, the Singapore carrier will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Tata Group-owned Air India.

The government has approved the foreign direct investment by Singapore Airlines as part of the merger.

Air India is owned by Tata Group and Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines.

In a message to the staff on Friday, Wilson said they are now embarking on the final stretch of the long and complicated merger process. The merger was announced in November 2022.

Wilson said that for Vistara flights on or after November 12, the flight numbers will change to Air India ones, even though in nearly all cases the aircraft, schedule and operating crew will be unchanged until early 2025.

A set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) has also been prepared for passengers to help them with more information amid the merger process.

From September 3, passengers wanting to book flights departing on or after November 12 through Vistara’s website will progressively be redirected to Air India’s site to complete the booking.

"All customers already booked on Vistara flights after 12th November will automatically have their reservations converted to Air India flight numbers; this will occur in phases during September, and customers will be individually informed when this occurs," Wilson said.

He said that with the regulatory approvals now in hand, the movement of aircraft and crew from the Vistara Air Operator Certificate to Air India’s has been set for November 12.

"As we now embark on the final stretch of this long and complicated process, let’s maintain the focus and effort to ensure that our collective customers and colleagues experience the smoothest of transitions," Wilson said in the message.

• Significant development’

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Singapore Airlines said it has received approval from the Government of India for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the enlarged Air India as part of the proposed merger.

"The FDI approval, together with anti-trust and merger control clearances and approvals, as well as other governmental and regulatory approvals received to-date, represent a significant development towards the completion of the proposed merger," the airline said in the filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The airline also said the completion of the merger continues to be subject to compliance by the parties with applicable Indian laws, which is currently expected to be completed in the next few months.

"At this juncture, completion of the proposed merger is anticipated to occur by the end of 2024," it added.

According to Singapore Airlines, the parties are in discussions to extend the long stop date for the completion of the merger. Earlier, it was expected to be October 31, 2024. (PTI)

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