Air India-Vistara merger: CEO Campbell Wilson's blueprint

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New Delhi: The Tata group acquired Air India and its low-fare unit Air India Express in January 2022 under a government-led strategic divestment programme. Later that year, the Tata group announced a merger between Air India and Vistara, and between Air India Express and AirAsia India. The two mergers are currently underway.

Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer of Air India, in an exclusive interview with Mint, talks about the future of the airline, and the complexities that come with the integration of four airlines under the Air India umbrella. The family connection will be clear. The ability to book the two airlines in a single transaction and have loyalty program recognition and have a seamless journey across the two will be there.

But, there will be two different airlines. One is a full service airline, one is a low cost airline. There are means to equalize the experience to an extent with respect to baggage or meal.

But, at the same time, we want to make sure that the reasons why we have a low cost airline, which is to provide the lowest possible price point, opening up travel to the most people possible, is not diluted. And at the same time, people that want a full service experience get a genuine full service experience. In the case of the full service airlines we've recently received the CCI approval and indeed there's a couple of approvals that we require from other regulators overseas.

We're into the second phase of the NCLT process and we hope to complete that by the end of the financial year. And thereafter it's a matter of when we feel the time is right to effect elements of the integration and ultimately merge the airlines into one. There's a little bit of work that Air India has to do to get up to the