Vistara's Final Flight: Merging With Air India For A New Era

After nearly a decade in the skies, Vistara, a full-service airline co-owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, officially concluded its journey with its final international flight from Delhi to Singapore early on Tuesday morning. This historic flight, with the code UK115, marked Vistara’s last operation under its own brand as it merged with Air India, creating India’s largest international airline and the country’s second-largest domestic carrier. The last domestic Vistara flight, UK986, flew from Mumbai to Delhi, ending its chapter in Indian aviation.

The merged airline entity, now operating under the Air India banner, quickly took off with its inaugural flights. The first international flight, AI2286, flew from Doha to Mumbai, while the first domestic flight, AI2984, departed from Mumbai to Delhi. Both flights landed early Tuesday morning, signifying the beginning of a new era for Air India and Vistara combined.

Airports across India have updated their systems to reflect the change, with Vistara check-in counters now rebranded as Air India. Passengers from former Vistara flights are now issued Air India boarding passes, and these flights carry the "AI2XXX" codes to distinguish them in reservations and schedules. This code adjustment is intended to make the transition seamless for passengers who are familiar with Vistara’s services.

With this merger, Air India will operate a vast network of 103 domestic and 71 international routes. In total, the newly integrated airline group, including Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly known as AirAsia India, also merged into Air India in October), now manages over 5,500 flights each week. The expanded airline group holds a domestic market share of about 29%, according to recent statistics, and boasts an impressive fleet of 298 aircraft, with around 208 aircraft in the Air India segment and approximately 90 in the Air India Express fleet.

As part of the merger deal, Singapore Airlines retains a 25.1% stake in the newly merged entity, allowing it a strategic foothold in India’s rapidly expanding aviation sector. The move aligns with the Tata Group’s vision for consolidating its aviation assets, marking the completion of two significant airline mergers in the past two months alone.

A formal announcement of the merger is expected to be made later on Tuesday. The integration is seen as a critical step in Tata’s efforts to create a more robust and competitive airline ecosystem in India, capable of better serving the needs of both domestic and international travelers.

(This story has been slightly reworked from an auto-generated PTI feed.)