Vistara to merge with Air India by March 2024

Singapore Airlines will own around 25 per cent of this enlarged company, into which it'll infuse over Rs 2,000 crore.

New Delhi, Nov 29: Tata Group on Tuesday announced the merger of its airlines, Vistara and Air India by March 2024. Tata has a 51 per cent stake in Vistara, while SIA holds 49 per cent.

Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) said it would emerge as a 25.1% owner of Air India as part of a deal that would merge its Vistara full-service airline joint venture with Tata Sons into India's national carrier.

"The Proposed Merger is subject to and conditional upon the satisfaction and/or waiver of various conditions precedent, including, inter alia, anti-trust and merger control approvals in India, Singapore and other relevant jurisdictions, the approval of the Indian civil aviation authority, as well as other governmental and regulatory approvals. On completion of the Proposed Merger, SIA will hold approximately 25.1% of the enlarged AI (being AI including Vistara and Talace)," stated the press release.

"SIA and Tata aim to complete the merger by March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals," the release added.

"The merger of Vistara and Air India is an important milestone in our journey to make Air India a truly world-class airline. We are transforming Air India, with the aim of providing great customer experience, every time, for every customer," said Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.

Chandrasekaran further said, 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."

Vistara was established in 2013, giving the SIA group a stake in India's fast-growing aviation sector.

India has strong domestic and international traffic flows, which are tipped to more than double over the next 10 years.

The International Air Transport Association has noted that India will become the third-largest aviation market in the world - including international and domestic traffic - by around 2024.