Skift Take
Air India's merger with Vistara is expected to be completed next year. With this, the merged entity would become India's largest international carrier and second-largest domestic airline.
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The Tata group is likely to retain the senior management of full-service airline Air India post its merger with Vistara, an Economic Times report said. While Campbell Wilson will continue as the CEO of Air India, the merged entity will have Nipun Aggarwal as the chief commercial and transformation officer, while Sanjay Sharma will continue as CFO.
The current Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan will likely return to parent company Singapore Airlines, the report added. Deepak Rajawat, the chief commercial officer of Vistara, is likely to join the merged entity.
Post-Merger Expectations: The merged entity will operate under the Air India brand.
In the run up to the merger, Air India is upgrading its fleet. Last year, it placed an order for 470 new aircraft with Boeing and Airbus. It is set to retrofit over 100 planes, including 40 widebody aircraft, and has ordered about 25,000 seats as a part of this revamp.
Air India also introduced premium economy, a cabin class that previously only Vistara offered in India. In its new Airbus A350-900 widebody jets, Air India has introduced a three-class configuration: Business Class, Premium Economy Class, and Economy Class. While Air India's website includes First Class in its cabin experience, it is not clear whether First Class will be offered aboard its flights going forward and if so, on what routes and which airplanes.
The process to merge Vistara's loyalty program Club