Page 10 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 Online Magazine

Following the announcement of the merger, Sunil Bhaskaran, CEO & MD, AirAsia India and Aloke Singh, CEO,
SIA and Tata have also agreed to partic- Air India Express. The working group will report to a committee
ipate in additional capital injections, if chaired by Air India MD & CEO, Campbell Wilson. Wilson said
required, to fund the growth and operations the creation of a single Air India Group low-cost carrier was a
of the enlarged Air India in FY2022/23 and key step in the rationalisation and transformation of the Group.
FY2023/24. Based on SIA’s 25.1% stake
post-completion, its share of any additional Air Asia India was a joint venture between Tata and Malaysia’s
capital injection could amount up to INR Air Asia Berhad and launched in 2014. It has a fleet of 29 Airbus
50,200 million. SIA will immediately acquire A320 family aircraft.
a strategic stake in an entity that is four to five
times larger in scale compared to Vistara. The Air India Grows Network
merger will also bolster SIA’s presence in the
fast growing Indian market and strengthen Air India’s long-haul ambitions are clearly evident with the airline
its multi-hub strategy. having announced direct flights between Indian cities and key
global destinations like Doha, San Francisco, Vancouver, and
Air Asia India Joins the Fold Birmingham. It is also set to commence direct flights from Delhi
to key European cities like Milan, Vienna and Copenhagen, and
Air India has stated that it expects to com- from Mumbai to New York, Paris and Frankfurt. Commenting
plete the merger of Air Asia India with Air on this expansion, Wilson, said, “A key element of our five-year
India Express (AIXL). by end-2023. This will transformation plan, Vihaan.AI, is to strengthen India’s global
allow it to grow its low cost offering, though it network, connecting India’s major cities with even more desti-
will have to decide on operating a two aircraft nations. The introduction of these new non-stop flights to New
fleet or continue with AIXL’s all-Boeing fleet. York, Milan, Vienna, Copenhagen, Paris and Frankfurt, is another
step in that journey, which will accelerate as our aircraft fleet
Consolidation of these two airlines could expands. We look forward to welcoming guests and sharing Air

© AIXL

boost customer, revenue and deliver oper- India’s warm Indian hospitality with them.”
ational benefits while at the same time
reducing costs. Air India will acquire the 100 In December, Air India resumed its Bengaluru to San Francisco
per cent shareholding in AirAsia India (AAI) non-stop service, with a thrice a week service operating Boeing
and an operational review process is under- 777-200LR aircraft. The direct distance between Bengaluru and
way with a view to ultimately integrating AAI San Francisco is nearly 14,000 km and the total flight time on
fully with AIXL. the route is more than 17 hours. Air India now offers 47 weekly
non-stop flights per week from India to the USA. The carrier has
A working group has been formed to evaluate also resumed non-stop flights from Delhi to Copenhagen, Milan
low-cost operations, which will be co-led by stop on these routes.
and execute the integration of the AI Group’s and Vienna, becoming the only Indian carrier to operate non-

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