Air India CEO eyes merger completion, sticks with Star Alliance

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson described the integration of four airlines into two as “probably unprecedented” in the aviation industry, with plans to finalize both transactions by year’s end. India’s Tata Group intends to combine Air India and Vistara as part of efforts to streamline operations. Tata purchased Air India in early 2022 and jointly owns Vistara along with Singapore Airlines. Additionally, the group is merging LCC subsidiaries Air India Express and the former AirAsia India business. “The challenge of merging four airlines into two, concurrently, is probably unprecedented in aviation,” Wilson told a media roundtable at the Farnborough Airshow. “There are the competition and legal clearances, then we have to merge all the operating practices, procedures and manuals, and train all the staff. It's a very long and convoluted process, but we’re hoping that by the end of this calendar year we’ll be able to complete both mergers.” Wilson noted that significant challenges include IT integration and aligning a diverse workforce of 30,000 staff. “There are many organizational structures to harmonize, but we are making substantial progress, and employees are looking forward to the new era,” he added. Speaking to ATW, Wilson described the “enormous” opportunity for aviation growth in India, noting that at the time of Air India’s privatization in 2022, the country had just 43 widebodies for its 1.4b population. In contrast, Singapore had 150 widebodies serving its 5m residents, he said. “The opportunity for growth out of India, even if you just focus on point-to-point, is enormous. When you consider the geography, which is exactly the same from a connectivity perspective as the Gulf, it compounds even further. So, our limiting factor is access to aircraft.”<br/>