In an important management change at Air India, the airline announced that an old-hand from Singapore Airlines, Basil Kwauk, will replace Klaus Goersch as the Chief Operations Officer.

In an internal announcement, Air India’s MD & CEO Campbell Wilson informed that Mr. Goersch would be leaving Air India at the end of December “to take up a senior role closer to his family in the United States”. He was appointed for the role in October 23.

Mr. Kwauk has 25 years of experience at Singapore Airlines. He was sent to Vistara on secondment where he was senior vice-president (flight operations) from 2017 and 2021 before he returned to Singapore from New Delhi.

Mr. Kwauk has flown a multitude of aircraft ranging from A319s to A340s and Boeing 787s, 777s and 747s. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from National University Singapore.

The development follows the merger of Vistara, which Singapore Airlines co-owned with Tata Sons, with Air India. Singapore Airlines now has 25.1% control in the Air India Group.

Mr. Kwauk is credited for steering Vistara operations through the pandemic. During his tenure, the airline also acquired 9 Boeing 787-9s from erstwhile Jet Airways as well as recruited requisite crew for flight operations when Vistara was an all Airbus fleet with only 22 planes. The airline also inducted Boeing 787 Dreamliners into the fleet from 2020 onwards and started its foray into international destinations during his time.

Though Mr. Goersch has been described as an “absentee COO” who often worked remotely from the U.S., many of those who have worked with Mr. Kwauk during his stint at Vistara called him a “great choice” for the role. Erstwhile Vistara crew described him as a “people’s person” who often interacted with ground staff to resolve their concerns and devising SOPs friendly for crew and passengers.

Industry watchers said that his appointment was a signal of Air India ensuring that some of the best practices that Vistara came to be known for was also brought into the merged entity, apart from Singapore Airlines getting a share of the pie in the management of the airline.

New Delhi:

Ground staff and crew members at Odisha’s Biju Patnaik International Airport bid an emotional goodbye to the last Vistara flight on Monday.

The Delhi-bound flight was the full service carrier’s last before its merger with Air India. The first flight of the integrated Air India-Vistara entity took off for Mumbai from Doha on Monday night. The flight operating with the code ‘AI2286’ departed Doha at around 10.07 pm local time and is expected to land in Mumbai early on Tuesday morning. It is also the first international flight of the merged entity.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, the airline had said, “As the plane ascends, so do our dreams; let’s glide toward the future, where the sky isn’t the limit, but just the beginning.”

After the Vistara-Air India merger, Vistara’s 49 per cent owner Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.

Air India has deployed additional resources, including help desk kiosks, at touch points and airports to ensure a smooth experience for Vistara passengers. In due course, Vistara airport ticketing offices and check-in terminals will become that of Air India.

Vistara aircraft will be identified by a special four-digit Air India code beginning with the digit ‘2’.

The integrated entity of Air India and Vistara is scheduled to operate its first flight from Doha to Mumbai at 12.15 am on Tuesday, according to a source.

Vistara will be merged with Air India on Monday night, and from Tuesday onwards, the Vistara flight code will change from ‘UK’ to ‘AI2XXX’.

On the international segment, the first flight of the integrated entity will be AI2286 from Doha to Mumbai, scheduled to take off at 12.15 am on Tuesday. On the domestic route, the first scheduled flight will be AI2984 from Mumbai to Delhi at 1.20 am, the source told PTI.

Both are scheduled Vistara flights that will be operated by Air India post-merger.

Meanwhile, the last flight of Vistara is scheduled to be UK115 from Delhi to Singapore, which will depart at 11.45 pm on Monday.

Both, Air India and Vistara, are part of the Tata Group. Vistara is a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines.

During the day, Vistara pilots made in-flight announcements about the merger and said passengers could continue to enjoy the familiar Vistara experience on the Air India aircraft.

Meanwhile, sharing a short video of a Vistara aircraft taxiing for take-off on X, the country’s largest IndiGo bid goodbye to the airline.

“As an unforgettable legacy takes its final flight, a new journey on the horizon awaits. Goodbye, @airvistara. Here’s #ToLimitlessPossibilities ahead. #goIndiGo,” the airline said in a post. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The song ‘Kal Ho Na Ho‘ played as Vistara’s Goa-Bengaluru flight landed at its destination on Sunday, invoking nostalgia among crew and members a day before the carrier’s time in the Indian aviation landscape was to come to an end.

The full-service carrier Vistara, which is a 51:49 per cent joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, is all set to merge with Air India on November 12. In an Instagram post, the airline said, “As the plane ascends, so do our dreams; let’s glide toward the future, where the sky isn’t the limit, but just the beginning.”

Why Is Vistara Merging With Air India?

Singapore’s flagship carrier announced a plan to merge the decade-old Vistara and Tata-owned Air India in November 2022, in a bid to create a dominant full-service airline in the domestic and international markets.

The merger process, however, was anything but smooth, with problems like pilot shortages causing widespread flight cancellations and Vistara crew protesting over plans to align their salary structures with Air India proving to be hurdles.

As the merger concludes on Monday, Vistara’s 49 per cent owner Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Singapore Airlines will make an additional investment of Rs 3,194.5 crore in Tata Group-owned airline.

How Is Air India Orchestrating The Transition For Fliers?

Air India has deployed additional resources, including help desk kiosks, at touch points and airports to ensure a smooth experience for Vistara passengers. There will be “customer support staff wearing ‘How may I assist you?’ Air India x Vistara branded t-shirts for support”.

The staff will work with airport security to guide customers with old Vistara tickets to the nearest help desk or to Air India customer support staff and deploy advisory on self-service kiosks. In due course, Vistara airport ticketing offices and check-in terminals will become that of Air India.

Vistara aircraft will be identified by a special four-digit Air India code beginning with the digit ‘2’.

Over the last few months, 2,70,000 customers who had booked Vistara flights have been migrated to Air India, and more than 4.5 million Vistara loyalty programme members are being migrated to Air India’s loyalty programme. Further, customers calling the Vistara contact centre will be automatically directed to Air India representatives, who will ensure a seamless experience during this transition.

The integrated entity will have a fleet of more than 200 planes, offering connectivity to 90 domestic and international destinations. Air India’s narrowbody fleet continues to be upgraded with new aircraft being delivered, legacy aircraft being refitted with entirely new interiors and Vistara’s catering now also extended to Air India.

Air India’s widebody fleet has also been augmented with the entry of six A350 aircraft that have started to fly between Delhi and London, and Delhi and New York, the airline said.

In the first month after the merger, nearly 1,15,000 passengers who had purchased Vistara tickets pre-merger are expected to fly on unified Air India.

A Managerial Reshuffle

Vistara chief executive officer Vinod Kanan, who has also been holding the role of Chief Integration Officer for the merger of the two entities, will continue in the latter role post-merger. Besides, he will be a member of the management committee and report directly to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, a company statement said.

Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer of Vistara will take up the position of Chief Financial Officer at the low-cost arm Air India Express, reporting to its chief executive officer Aloke Singh and also support Air India Group CFO Sanjay Sharma in strategic initiatives and projects. Meanwhile, Vikas Agarwal, the current CFO of Air India Express, will move to a new role in Air India.

Senior vice president for flight operations at Vistara Hamish Maxwell has assumed an advisory role to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh while Pushpinder Singh, Chief Operations Officer of Air India Express, returns to flying, as per the statement. A successor for Singh will be announced in due course.

Deepa Chadha and Vinod Bhatt, senior vice president HR & Corporate Affairs and Chief Information Officer of Vistara respectively, will take on senior roles at other Tata group companies, the statement said adding that Vistara CFO Niyant Maru, who had continued beyond his superannuation date to see through the completion of the merger, will retire at the end of his current term.

All other Air India Group CXO roles and reporting lines roles will remain unchanged.

Why Are Air India Pilots Miffed?

A section of Air India pilots is unhappy in the run-up to the Vistara merger over different retirement age limits for pilots of the two Tata Group-owned airlines as the management is yet to address the issue, sources told news agency PTI.

At Air India, the retirement age for pilots and other staff is 58 years, whereas at Vistara it is 60 years. “While the management was prompt in bringing parity in terms of salary structure and other working conditions of the employees of the two airlines as part of the merger process, it is yet to address the issue of two different retirement age limits,” a source said on the condition of anonymity.

Air India Only Full-Service Carrier In Country

Vistara, like many other airlines, entered Indian aviation after the liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms. In 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led UPA government allowed foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent in a domestic carrier, which later resulted in the now defunct Jet Airways securing 24 per cent stake from Gulf carrier Etihad besides the birth of AirAsia India and Vistara.

With operations commencing on started flying on January 9, 2015, Vistara soon became synonymous with quality food and service and cultivated a loyal customer base. Meanwhile, Kingfisher went belly up in 2012 while Air Sahara, which was acquired by Jet Airways and renamed as JetLite, sank with Jet Airways in 2019.

Vistara’s winding up will reduce the number of full-service carriers just one from five in a span of over 17 years.

Nostalgic Fliers Bid Goodbye

Social media was flooded with posts from loyal Vistara fliers, who remembered the airline for delivering the “new feeling” in travel. Many posted pictures from their travels on board the carrier.

The crew was nostalgic during in-flight announcements and in true Vistara fashion played Kal Ho Na Ho upon landing!
This brand deserves to live on through case studies and employee accounts.
(h/t to @TheSanjivKapoor for sharing insights from his time at Vistara and Jet) 3/4

— Anubhav Goyal (@anubhavgo) November 10, 2024

Farewell to Vistara

India’s finest domestic airline, as it takes its final flight today

Since 2015, Vistara has set new standards for service and comfort in Indian skies

Thank you, Vistara, for making every journey memorable!

Let us fly high to new horizons with Air… pic.twitter.com/MsenFCAK0y

— Parth Suba (@parthsuba77) November 10, 2024

Plus lot more over the years, too many to note, but a few special ones!

Jan 2023, the 8th anniversary special flight – #UK08 with the figure 8 over the Arabian Sea & a fun 4-segment day out with some great people! pic.twitter.com/qqjLr0wBFa

— AJ (@OntheRoadAJ) November 10, 2024

IndiGo Steps In

IndiGo Airlines is set to introduce business class from mid-November on a handful of domestic flights, starting with the Delhi-Mumbai route, as it seeks to tap a growing crop of premium fliers. IndiGo’s business class foray marks a departure in strategy for the no-frills carrier and a sign of growing demand for premium services in the country.

Currently, the airline only has economy class. It has a fleet of more than 360 aircraft and operates around 2,000 flights daily.

With inputs from PTI

New Delhi:

With the number of flights that have received hoax bomb threats in four days crossing 25 on Thursday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said initial investigations do not point to a conspiracy and that most of the calls had been “made by minors and pranksters”.

A 17-year-old boy was taken into custody by the Mumbai Police on Wednesday for issuing threats to four flights on Monday, including three on international routes. Officials had said the teenager wanted to frame one of his friends, with whom he had a dispute over money. 

Mr Naidu also said his department is considering changes in rules and legislation to ensure that such hoax bomb calls do not happen in the future. 

“We can’t comment on a conspiracy but whatever little we have known, it (the threats) is coming from minors or some pranksters. For very little, petty things, they are trying to issue threats on social media or through phone calls. So these are isolated incidents, there is no kind of conspiracy we can comment on,” the minister said on Thursday.

“From what we know, they are all individuals, most of them minors, who don’t understand the whole idea of what they are doing, and they are creating this kind of inconvenience,” he added.

Mr Naidu said steps are being taken to ensure that a “strict barrier is created for people trying to do these kinds of pranks” and his department is pursuing changes in rules and legislation to achieve this. 

“The police are pursuing the cases and trying to find out who is behind this. The Ministry of Home Affairs is also helping us a lot. Airlines and passengers are facing a lot of inconvenience, so we don’t want these kinds of situations to be repeated. We are ensuring action is being taken on these kinds of issues so that they don’t become a precedent for the future,” the minister asserted. 

The civil aviation minister said his department has held meetings with airlines and security agencies as well.

Series Of Calls

Police had said four bomb threats were issued on Monday and two flights were delayed, including Air India flight AI 119 from Mumbai to New York, which was diverted to New Delhi, and one had to be cancelled.

At least seven flights were impacted on Tuesday, including Air India flight AI 127 from Delhi to Chicago, which was diverted to the remote Iqaluit airport in Canada. IndiGo flight 6E 98 from Damman in Saudi Arabia to Lucknow made an emergency landing in Jaipur and threats were received by Air India Express, Akasa Air and Alliance Air as well. 

On Wednesday, a New Delhi-Bengaluru Akasa Air flight (QP 1335) returned to the capital and Indigo’s Mumbai-Delhi flight 6E 651 was diverted to Ahmedabad. Five other flights also received bomb threats, including two from SpiceJet.

The threats continued on Thursday and an Air India Mumbai-London flight was forced to declare an emergency an hour before landing. The Mumbai-London flight was one of at least five operated by Air India and two each by Vistara and IndiGo that received bomb threats, taking the total since Monday to over 28. 

Teenager’s Arrest

A 17-year-old school dropout from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh was taken into custody by the Mumbai Police on Wednesday over Monday’s threats. Officials said the teenager allegedly created a handle on X in the name of a friend with whom he had a dispute and posted bomb threats from it.

The Mumbai Police has registered seven first information reports (FIRs) in connection with the threats and so has the Delhi Police.

A Vistara Airbus A320 passenger aircraft. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

More than 80 pilots at Vistara have written to Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and the airline’s CEO Vinod Kannan alleging that they had been sidelined for promotions, ahead of Vistara’s merger with Air India next month.

In the letter to the top brass on Sunday evening, a copy of which was reviewed by The Hindu, Vistara captains expressed displeasure at Air India pilots being promoted to widebody aircraft as well as to the position of trainers ahead of them. They alleged that this violated the career progression list prepared by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for the pilots of the two airlines for the upcoming merger, which stated that for every Vistara pilot promoted to widebody planes, three from Air India would be upgraded based on the staff strength of the two airlines.

Ever since the BCG list was finalised, Air India had promoted 100 captains and moved them to twin-aisle Boeing 787, while only five had been upgraded in Vistara, they alleged.

Calling this violation a “transgression”, the pilots wrote that this meant there would be “fewer vacant slots for conversion from narrow-body to wide-body airplanes” once they were part of the enlarged Air India.

In his response via email on Tuesday evening, which was also reviewed by The Hindu, the CEO wrote that the implementation of the career progression list for Vistara pilots for promotions to widebodies and for the post of trainers would take place post the merger.

Vistara will merge into Air India on November 12, when both airlines will operate under the AI code and flight bookings will be shifted to the latter’s website.

Vistara pilots asserted in the mail that they were the “original Tata Sons employees”, while Air India was only acquired in 2022 and, therefore, various schemes were contrary to the “principle of natural justice”.

Another issue that has upset the pilots at Vistara is the mandate to avail the staff travel scheme, a key perk that allows the airline’s employees and their families access to free air travel with the airline. They said using the date of joining as the basis to determine an employee’s seniority to avail the scheme would place them at a disadvantage, irrespective of their seniority, simply because Vistara was launched in 2014, while Air India was a much older airline.

Concerns were also raised over anomalies in pay and allowances between individuals with similar levels of service seniority and experience. However, the CEO sought to reassure that increments over the next few years would be designed in a way to ensure that the disparities are removed overtime such that salaries of staff in the same cohort “converge.”

Vistara Airbus A320 passenger aircraft. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

On Wednesday (October 2, 2024), Air India said flights operated with Vistara aircraft will have numbers starting with the prefix ‘AI2’ after the merger next month while Vistara’s planes, crew and service will continue to operate as before.

The Tata Group-owned full-service carrier also emphasised that the Vistara experience will remain post-merger.

The merger of Vistara – a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines – with Air India is scheduled for November 12 which will mark a major consolidation in the Indian aviation space after the integration of AIX Connect with Air India Express.

There are concerns in certain quarters on whether Vistara passengers will continue to get the same services as now post-merger as Air India, which is in the transformation phase, has recently faced certain service issues.

An Air India spokesperson on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) said the teams of Air India and Vistara have been working hard for over a year to ensure that the merger of the legal and regulated entities is seamless for both customers and staff.

“Though the legal entities and Air Operator Certificates will become one on 12 November, the Vistara experience will remain.

“Vistara aircraft, crew and service will continue to operate as before, but with AI2XXX flight numbers bookable via airindia.com,” the spokesperson said in a statement to PTI.

Air India’s airline code is ‘AI’ and that of Vistara is ‘UK’. The latter will fly into the sunset after the merger.

Among other elements, Vistara’s catering is being extended to Air India.

According to the Air India spokesperson, its narrow-body fleet continues to be upgraded with new aircraft being delivered and legacy aircraft being refitted with entirely new interiors.

The Air India-Vistara merger, announced in November 2022, will also see Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1% stake in the merged entity.

Gurugram (Haryana):

TATA SIA Airlines Limited, known by the brand name of Vistara announced its merger with Air India on Friday.

The company said in a statement that customers will not be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after November 12.

“Starting 03 September 2024, customers will, progressively, no longer be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after 12 November 2024,” the company said.

However, Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till 11 November 2024. All Vistara aircraft will be operated by Air India and bookings for the routes operated by these aircraft will be redirected to Air India’s website, the company informed.

During this transition period, both Vistara and Air India will ensure necessary support, consistent communication, and convenience to all customers, every step of the way.

Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We are immensely grateful to all our customers for their support and patronage over the last 10 years. As we progress further in our growth journey, we want to emphasize that this merger is about offering them more choice with a larger fleet and a wider network, while elevating the overall travel experience. Vistara and Air India are committed to ensuring that this transition is smooth and hassle-free. We are excited about this new phase in our journey and look forward to welcoming our customers again soon – as Air India.”

Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, said, “Cross-functional teams from Air India and Vistara have been working together for many months to make the transition of aircraft, flying crew, ground-based colleagues and, most importantly, our valued customers, into the new Air India as seamless as possible. The joint team looks forward to offering our guests an expanded network, additional flight options, an enhanced frequent flyer program and the best of both antecedent airlines and are grateful for the support of our loyal customers through this next phase of building a world class, world scale, global airline with an Indian heart.”

On August 10, Both companies secured the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) 145 approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to integrate their aircraft line maintenance operations, as per an official release.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Vistara has offered voluntary retirement as well as voluntary separation schemes for its non-flying staff, ahead of the full service carrier’s merger with Air India, according to officials.

A joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, Vistara has around more than 6,500 employees, including permanent and contract staff.

The Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) and Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) have been offered for the non-flying permanent employees. Eligible staff can apply for the schemes till August 23, they said.

While VRS is for those who have completed five years of service, VSS is for the staff who are yet to complete five-year service at the airline.

The schemes are similar to those offered by the Tata Group-owned Air India earlier this month.

The schemes are not be applicable for pilots, cabin crew and those holding licences for carrying out their duties.

There was no official comment from Vistara on the schemes. The airline started flying in 2015.

Earlier this month, sources had said about 600 non-flying staff of Air India and Vistara are likely to be impacted by the two airlines’ mega-merger, and efforts will be made to provide job opportunities to the affected employees within Air India group and Tata companies.

Tata Group-owned loss-making full-service carriers — Air India and Vistara — together have more than 23,000 employees.

Meanwhile, the fitment exercise — which involves the evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of staff of both airlines — in the run-up to the merger has been going on for the past few months. The exercise takes into account an individual’s prior experience, performance and other factors.

On May 12, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson, along with Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan, held a one-and-a-half-hour town hall meeting with employees of both carriers about the proposed merger.

At that time, Wilson and Kannan also assured that the fitment, or assignment, of existing employees into the new structure was being done based on merit and competency.

The merger, which will create one of the biggest airline groups, was announced in November 2022. Once the deal is complete, Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Vistara is a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group.

In June, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) cleared the merger, and in March, Singapore’s competition regulator CCCS gave a conditional nod for the proposed deal.

Earlier in September 2023, the deal received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), subject to certain conditions.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

A Vistara flight bound for Srinagar, carrying 177 passengers and one infant received a bomb threat on Friday, prompting swift action by the airline and security forces.

Flight no-UK-611, which departed from Delhi, landed safely at Srinagar Airport at approximately 12:10 AM.

Following standard protocol for such threats, the aircraft was immediately directed to an isolation bay upon landing.

“All passengers were safely de-boarded at the isolation bay. Currently, the aircraft is undergoing a thorough security check by the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of all concerned,” an airport official told ANI.

Despite the disruption, all passengers are reported to be safe, and the situation is being handled with the utmost priority to ensure their security.

“We confirm there was a security concern on Vistara flight UK 611 operating from Delhi to Srinagar on 31 May 2024 that was brought to our staff’s attention while on board. Following the protocol, we immediately informed the relevant authorities, and the aircraft was taken to the isolation bay after safely landing at the Srinagar International Airport where all customers were disembarked,” said Vistara spokesperson.

“We fully cooperated with the concerned authorities to clear the mandatory security checks. All the necessary checks have been conducted and the aircraft has been cleared to resume operations. At Vistara, safety and security of our customers, crew and aircraft is of utmost importance to us,” the spokesperson underscored.

Authorities are investigating the source of the bomb threat and taking all necessary measures to ensure the continued safety of air travel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)