Mumbai: Tata Group likely to bid adieu to brand Vistara

Vistara will not be called Vistara after 2024 By the end of 2024 the brand name Vistara will be scrapped as the airline will be fully merged into mainline carrier Air India On the sidelines of the IATA Annual General Meeting 2024 executives from Tata Group shared the latest update regarding the Air IndiaVistara merger and the Air India ExpressAirAsia India mergerAir India Vistara merger Whatrsquos the latest updateldquoFirstly the merger committee has decided to scrap the Vistara brand name Entering into 2025 there is a possibility that this name will no longer be used This aligns with the Air Operator Certificate AOC validity of Vistara which is set to expire in December 2024 Following the liquidation of the Vistara brand the Tata Group umbrella will have two airlines Air India and Air India Expressrdquo informed an executive of Tata Group in a media statementldquoThe airlines within the group have already started preparing for the merger Both Air India and Air India Express are adjusting their networks accordingly On routes like DelhiDubai and MumbaiDubai Air India is stepping up its presence because of a higher number of corporate travellers On the other hand the Low Cost Carrier LCC subsidiary is focusing on domestic routes as well as international connections from Tier23 citiesrdquo the executive statedldquoNational Company Law Tribunal NCLT has already reserved its order for the Air IndiaVistara merger The airlines are expected to receive the order within the next 30 days Once the final nod is granted both will be able to transfer their staff and assets to each other Upon receiving the NCLT nod they also start communicating with the passengers that the Vistara brand is merging with Air Indiardquo said sources from the airline familiar with the matterldquoAfter NCLT the merger will await approval from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade DPIIT Upon completion of the merger Singapore Airlines SIA will be the minority stakeholder in the merged airline It will hold approximately 25 per cent stakerdquoldquoVistara and Air India Express recently faced disruptions in their scheduled services because of a revolt from their flying staff Both airlines are gradually bringing operations back to normal Networkwise Vistara will recover by July August Currently it is operating with a minor capacity cutrdquo said industry sources familiar with the matterWhat about the Air India ExpressAirAsia India mergerldquoSimilar to the Full Service Carrier FSC merger the Low Cost Carrier LCC merger between Air India Express and AirAsia India is also waiting for the NCLT approval This process is expected to be completed within the next 60 days Once the NCLT approves the merger proposal it will take another 45 months to merge the air operator certificates AOCs of both airlinesrdquo said another source from the airlines who is in the know on matters related to mergerldquoBoth airlines have already merged their boarding passes airport checkin and booking portal Both of them have transited to common social media platforms a common website and the same booking portalrdquo the source saidldquoOnce the airline receives the nod from NCLT the fleet of AIX Connect will be shifted to the AOC of Air India Express Four Airbus A320neos have already been shifted to Air India Express AOC Out of these two have been painted in the new Al Express liveryrdquo the executive stated60daysExpected time to get NCLT approval for AIXAirAsia India merger