Air India completes merger with Vistara

Air India Group has completed the operational integration and legal merger between Air India and Vistara, creating a full-service carrier of scale and marking a significant milestone in the post-privatisation transformation journey. This follows the merger of the Group’s low-cost airlines Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly Air Asia India) on October 1.

The unified Air India Group now operates over 8,300 weekly flights on 312 routes, connecting more than 100 domestic and international destinations with a fleet of 300 aircraft. The consolidation of the four Tata-owned airlines into one Group operating one full-service and one low-cost airline is part of the ongoing, five-year transformation programme, Vihaan.AI, which is focussed on establishing Air India Group as a world-class global aviation company with an Indian heart.

Besides the consolidation of the four Tata-owned airlines, the Vihaan.AI transformation programme has seen commitment to more than 500 new aircraft, delivery of which is well underway, and the commencement of a USD 400 million interior retrofit program for legacy aircraft. A new 6,00,000 square feet training facility with the capacity to train 2,000 employees per-day has been opened, and ground has been broken on a 12-bay maintenance base that will be operational in early 2026. More than 9,000 new employees have been inducted and trained, and the airlines’ IT platform has been entirely modernised, amongst much else.

Campbell Wilson, MD and CEO, Air India, said, “The merger completes the consolidation and restructuring phase of the group’s post-privatisation transformation journey, and is thus a significant milestone. Over the past two years, teams across the four airlines have worked closely together and with other stakeholders to ensure the transition of people, assets, operations and most importantly, customers, was as seamless as possible.”