Air India, Vistara Begin Merger Process, Joint Town Hall On March 2: Report

Consultancy firm Deloitte is working with senior executives from Air India and Vistara to integrate human resources, while AZB Partners is working on regulatory compliance

Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.

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Tata-owned Air India and Vistara airlines have begun their integration process to expedite the merger process, a report by The Economic Times (ET) said. Consultancy firm Deloitte is working with senior executives from Air India and Vistara to integrate human resources, while AZB Partners is working on regulatory compliance, according to ET.

Citing a person privy to the development, ET said, "Team managers and members reporting to the management directly have already been assessed and in the next few weeks, the next level of employees will be assessed for their prospective role. Since the two airlines had executives in the same role, it needs to be carefully assessed on who will be given leadership or managerial role.”

The merger between Vistara and Air India was announced last year by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Tata Group. SIA will hold a 25.1 per cent stake in the merged entity. It is expected to be completed by March next year.

Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Group and SIA.

The two airlines will reportedly organise a joint town hall on March 2, which pilots from both airlines will attend. Topics like the choice of base, choice of aircraft, seniority and career progress will be discussed at the meeting.

"Given the criticality of seamless integration of flight operations, we are planning an exclusive town hall with pilots on March 2 from 12 PM to 1 PM to share the proposed roadmap for flight operations integration and address queries," Vinod Kannan, CEO of Vistara wrote in a note to employees.

Moreover, the non-flying staff is being asked to take the Hogan Test and is being appraised based on the results. The test measures candidates' capabilities based on their personalities.

Meanwhile, Air India has placed orders for 840 planes from Airbus and Boeing, including options to purchase additional 370 aircraft, a senior airline official said on Thursday. Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial and transformation officer of Air India, in a LinkedIn post, said the airline is humbled by the excitement generated across the world by the airline's aircraft order.