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The Tata Group promoted Air India will be able to boast of an expanded international presence as a result of its merger with Vistara.
Accordingly, the merger will strengthen the airline’s presence on critical long-haul routes and open new destinations like Bali and Mauritius.
Speaking to businessline, airline representatives said that post-merger Air India will have a presence in over 40 overseas destinations.
At present, Air India operates to 35 international destinations, while Vistara flies in and out of 18 overseas airports.
Excluding the operations to the same destinations, the combined entity will operate to just over 40 ports of call ranging from the continental United States to Australia.
Besides, Air India will dominate on certain flight routes to the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia.
Notably, Air India’s substantial presence on these high-demand routes will offer enhanced connectivity between Indian cities and metropolises like London, Frankfurt, Paris, and New York.
International passengers
Last year, Air India ferried over ten million international passengers, and Vistara carried nearly three million travellers to and from overseas destinations.
The combined network will also enable Air India to offer more direct flights and convenient connections, making it the carrier of choice for both business and leisure travellers.
Furthermore, by adjusting frequencies to these major cities, the airline will be able to open routes to several new global destinations over the next few months.
Among the new cities that are likely to see Air India flights are Manila, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Seattle.
Flights to these cities, said an airline official, are subject to aircraft and airport slot availability.
Apart from new destinations like Bali and Mauritius, Air India will get its hands on some widebody aircraft that are in service with Vistara, such as the 787 and A321neo.
Presently, Air India has 60 widebody aircraft, such as the Airbus A350, Boeing 777s, and Boeing 787s. On its part, Vistara has seven widebody, medium- to long-range planes.
In addition, the induction of Vistara’s aircraft assumes significance in maintaining Air India’s current global network as the airline will begin to retrofit its Boeing 777s. This exercise will result in downtime for several aircraft and coincide with the return of some leased 777s.
Currently, Air India dominates international traffic from India to the US, Europe, and Australian markets, while Vistara has a sizable presence on Middle Eastern, South-east Asian, and certain European routes.
The merger of full-service airlines Air India and Vistara successfully completed on November 12, 2024, follows the merger of the low-cost airlines Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly Air Asia India) on October 1, 2024.
Post-merger, Air India Group operates a combined fleet of 300 aircraft covering 55 domestic and 48 international destinations, with 312 routes and 8,300 flights per week. The collective staff strength now stands at over 30,000.
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