Air India and Vistara will merge into one full-service carrier, which will be known as Air India. The merger is currently underway, and approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is awaited. The amalgamation of Air India and Vistara will create one full-service airline and one low-cost airline in the group. Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Air India, emphasized that some of the “Vistara heritage” would be retained in the new manifestation. The intention is to create a single entity that carries forward the legacy of both Air India and Vistara. As part of its firm order for 470 planes, Air India has the choice to buy another 370 planes from Airbus and Boeing.
Campbell Wilson stated that Air India has “enormous” potential and efforts are being made to transform the group into an influential international player. Air India is operating on remodeling its broad-body aircraft and has invested $400 million in the same. Air India is also in the procedure of setting up a remarkably extensive training facility for pilots and cabin crew in the country. The airline is hiring around 500 cabin crew and pilots every month to increase its services. Air India plans to hire over 4,200 cabin crew and 900 pilots over the next three years. In the short term, the airline will hire pilots and cabin crew from foreign to fulfill the need for growing flight procedures.
