Senior management at Air India expected to keep jobs after Vistara merger

The Tata group is likely to retain the senior management of full-service airline Air India after its merger with Vistara, according to an Economic Times report.

The report said Campbell Wilson will continue as CEO of Air India, while Nipun Aggarwal be chief commercial and transformation officer of the merged entity, while Sanjay Sharma will continue as CFO.

With this, the merged entity would become India’s largest international carrier and second-largest domestic airline.

Current Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan will likely return to parent company Singapore Airlines, the report added. Deepak Rajawat, the chief commercial officer of Vistara, is likely to join the merged entity.

In the lead up to the merger, Air India is upgrading its fleet, it has placed an order for 470 new aircraft with Boeing and Airbus. It is also set to retrofit more than 100 planes, including 40 widebody aircraft, and has ordered about 25,000 seats as a part of this revamp.

https://www.travelweekly.com.au/article/air-india-to-train-thousands-of-new-staff-in-preparation-for-the-arrival-of-its-new-mega-fleet/

Air India also introduced premium economy, a cabin class that previously only Vistara offered in India. In its new Airbus A350-900 widebody jets, Air India has also introduced a three-class configuration: Business, Premium Economy and Economy.

While Air India’s website includes First Class in its cabin experience, it is not clear whether First Class will be offered aboard its flights in future and if so, on what routes and which airplanes.

The process to merge Vistara’s loyalty program Club Vistara with Air India’s Flying Returns has also begun. In a mail sent out in May, Vistara told its customers that the Club Vistara program will continue until the integration is complete.

Last month, the Air India-Vistara merger received the approval of India’s National Company Law Tribunal paving the way for the airlines to begin the integration of their networks, human resources and fleet deployments.

The merger is likely to be completed by mid-2025. However, as part of the merger, about 600 ground staff are expected to be made redundant.

Feature image: New Air India Livery. (Supplied)