Air India-Vistara Merger: New Loyalty Programs, Flight Numbers, And More

As part of the merger, 3,385 Vistara suppliers, over 3,300 crew members, 70 aircraft operating more than 320 daily flights and 86 IT contracts are to be migrated in the new carrier system

Preparations for the merger between Vistara and Air India are in full swing. The carriers will finalise their merger on November 12, 2024. As part of the process, more than 2.7 lakh passenger reservations and 45 lakh accounts of loyalty members have been migrated to Air India’s digital systems already.

Sharing the details of the merger, Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Air India, said that the main focus for the airline is to enhance the customer experience for Vistara passengers across all the digital platforms post the merger. The changes have been informed to all Vistara customers with bookings post the deal, reported The Financial Express.

The executive stated that the flights of these customers have been integrated into Air India’s system and considerable progress has been made in integrating all the back-end systems required for the newly expanded airline, Air India, to continue operating smoothly. 

Migration Of Crew And Aircraft

This includes migration of more than 140 systems necessary for customer service, employee integration, and operational efficiency.

As part of the merger, 3,385 Vistara suppliers, over 3,300 crew members, 70 aircraft operating more than 320 daily flights and 86 IT contracts are to be migrated in the new carrier system. Overall, 6,500 Vistara employees will transition to Air India.

While Vistara will cease operations, its fleet and crew will continue operating under the Air India banner but with new flight numbers. To help identify former Vistara flights, the executive informed that Air India will launch four-digit flight numbers starting with ‘2’. For instance, Vistara flight UK 955 will be named as AI 2955 post the merger.

Loyalty Programs

The loyalty members will now be able to avail the benefits of the ‘Maharaja Club’ as both carriers’ loyalty programs will be migrated into the new offering. Current Club Vistara members will become a part of the Flying Returns program of Air India.