Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it is in talks with the Tata Group to evaluate a possible merger between Vistara and Air India. The airline would then look to leverage its growth in South Asia.
SIA has a 49 percent stake in Vistara. The Indian conglomerate owns the rest. Tata also owns all of Air India after buying it in January from the Indian state. SIA said Indian domestic and international traffic flow should double in the next 10 years. Shukor Yusof, director of consultancy Endau, said: «With China still closed by the pandemic, and in a marked slowdown, India is the next big star in commercial aviation».
«The talks are intended to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and the Tata Group. There may even be a possible integration between Vistara and Air India,» Singapore Airlines said in a statement, reported by Reuters. The company said no deal has been sealed yet, noting that the talks are confidential. It also noted that any solution would have to be approved by regulatory authorities.
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If the merger is decided, the resulting airline would be the main competitor to the country’s dominant carrier IndiGo. It would also seek to compete with the Middle East’s Big Three (Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad), which carry much of India’s international traffic.
Vistara is currently rebuilding its fleet. Its main objective is to reach a domestic market share of at least 30% in five years. It is also expanding into North America. Thanks to the airline’s ability to fly over Russian airspace, the flight time to and from America is shorter than its rivals, which have had to avoid it since the invasion of Ukraine.
