Air India and Vistara airlines will be merged by March 2024. Currently Singapore Airlines owns minority share in Vistara and in its joint venture with Tata it will own 25 per cent of the enlarged Air India into which it’ll infuse over 2,000 crore whereas Tata Sons will hold around 74.9 % stakes in the AI-Vistara-AI Express India Pvt. Ltd. Combined entity. At present, 51 per cent share in Vistara is with Tata, while Singapore Airlines owns the remaining 49 per cent in the join venture set up in 2013.
For Vistara, the two owners “aim to complete the merger by March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals,” said a Singapore Airlines release.
After Tata bought Air India for Rs 18,000 crore after the government’s disinvestment, the plan is to merge all its aviation brands under one name. As per the reports, it is likely to order 300 narrow-body jets which is considered as one of the largest orders in the aviation history. Air India’s chief executive officer had said that it aims to triple its fleet of 113 over the next five years.
“As part of the transformation, Air India is focusing on growing both its network and fleet, revamping its customer proposition, enhancing safety, reliability, and on-time performance,” the company release quoted Tata Sons chairperson N Chandrasekaran as saying.
Goh Choon Phong, the chief executive of Singapore Airlines, said, “Our collaboration to set up Vistara in 2013 resulted in a market-leading full-service carrier, which has won many global accolades in a short time. With this merger, we have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Tata and participate directly in an exciting new growth phase in India’s aviation market.”