Today marks Vistara’s final day of operations under its own brand. The airline will operate its last flights on Monday, November 11, before transitioning to Air India starting November 12. In a farewell post, Vistara shared, “As the plane ascends, so do our dreams; let’s glide toward the future, where the sky isn’t the limit, but just the beginning.”
Changes ahead with Air India-Vistara merger
Air India assures that routes, schedules, and the in-flight experience will remain the same, with the same products, services, and crew onboard. To ensure a smooth transition, Air India has ramped up its resources across key touchpoints, including setting up help desks at major airports in India to assist passengers at curbside entry points and metro city hubs.
In the first month after the merger, Air India expects approximately 1,15,000 customers with pre-merger Vistara bookings to travel with the unified airline. Vistara’s aircraft will now operate under the Air India brand, with flights identified by a new four-digit Air India code beginning with “2”. For example, Vistara flight UK 955 will now be re-designated as AI 2955, allowing customers to easily identify it when booking through the Air India website starting November 12.
Air India becomes India’s only full-service carrier
With Vistara’s merger into Air India, India’s once-thriving full-service carrier market will shrink to just one, marking the end of an era. Over the past 17 years, the number of full-service carriers in the country has fallen from five to one. The merger also signifies the conclusion of another Indian airline jointly owned by a foreign carrier.
Following the 2012 liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms, Vistara was born as a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, with the latter holding a 49% stake. After the merger, Singapore Airlines will retain a 25.1% share in Air India.