Tata Group will be discontinuing the brand Vistara, which also is an airline owned by the company.
As per Campbell Wilson, Air India’s Chief Executive Officer, the brand will be discontinued after its merger with Air India.
Tata Group To Discard Vitara Brand After Air India Merger
The Tata Group intends to discontinue Vistara, another airline owned by the Tata group of companies, after merging it with Air India, according to an announcement made on Monday by Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Air India.
The airline’s CEO explained what would probably happen to Vistara’s resources, particularly its pilots and cabin crew, in an exclusive interview with Business Today.
Wilson, who joined Air India in 2022, said in an interview with Business Today that the group intends to take Vistara employees on board the new full-service airline that will be created as a result of the merger.
As per Wilson, “While planning for the merger of Vistara into Air India, we want to ensure that everyone in the group has a position and future.”
By the end of 2022, the airline plans to hire an additional 1000 people to its current 4000-person workforce, making the total headcount 5000, according to an earlier statement from Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan. There are about 55 aircraft in the airline’s fleet.
Additionally, Air India’s announcement from August of last year confirmed that it employs about 11,000 people. It was reported that 4500 or so employees applied for voluntary retirement when Tata acquired Air India. Wilson also stated that 1600 employees had received voluntary retirement leave from the company.
Why Is Vitara Brand Discontinued?
Wilson provided an update on the merger and stated that it is in its initial stage, with the second phase involving obtaining approval from the DGCA and CCI. Additionally, he explained the reasoning behind the decision to discontinue the Vistara brand, stating that the Air India brand has better global recognition and is more suitable for a full-service airline with a global reach.
Air India declared that it would buy 470 airplanes from Boeing and Airbus this month, and the list value of these aircraft is $70 billion. The organization clarified that it would finance the deal by employing a combination of “internal cash flow, equity, and the sale and leaseback of aircraft.”
We had reported in December that Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA) will merge Vistara into Air India. After the merger is done Tata Sons will hold 74.9% stake in the AI-Vistara-AI Express -AirAsia India Pvt Ltd (AAIPL) combined entity and SIA the remaining 25.1% stake.
After SIA invests $250 million as this integration is complete, the new Air India will be valued at about $1 billion.
