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The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has conditionally approved merger of TATA SIA Airlines – Vistara, a joined venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group with Air India, which is also owned by the Tata Group used Telace Pvt Ltd. The approval has been granted following the acceptance of commitments from the involved parties.
The commission has granted conditional approval for merger under certain conditions where Singapore Airlines and the merged Air India – Vistara have been asked to maintain flight capacity on the routes operated by them between both the countries at pre-Covid levels.
The CCCS had received a joint application in November 2020 concerning the merger request between Singapore Airlines and Vistara. Subsequently, concerns were raised regarding the merger’s impact on market competition, particularly on routes between Singapore and New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Tiruchirapalli.
To address competition concerns, the CCCS has also asked both the parties to appoint an independent auditor to monitor compliance and submit a written annual report for each report year; and submit an interim report which monitors their respective compliance with the committed capacity levels for every three weeks of non-fulfilment in a report year.
Notably, the Tata Group had announced to merge both the full-service carriers – Air India and Vistara to form a single, bigger airline where Singapore Airlines will acquire 25.1 per cent stake and rest will be owned by the Tatas. India’s competition commission approved the merger deal in September 2023.
Commencing from March 31, 2024, IndiGo will operate direct flights between Ahmedabad-Rajkot, Ahmedabad-Aurangabad, Bhopal-Lucknow, and Indore-Varanasi. Additionally, the airline will launch direct flights between Kolkata-Srinagar and Kolkata-Jammu from April 10, 2024, and April 21, 2024, respectively. Moreover, a new connecting flight between Kolkata and Jammu via Srinagar will also be introduced from April 10, 2024.
In a statement, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson welcomed the approval and said the proposed merger is in progress, pending foreign direct investment and other regulatory approvals.The proposed now merger awaits other regulatory and foreign direct investment approvals. According to news report, the Vistara management expects the merger to be completed by mid-2025.
When completed, the merger of Air India and Vistara will result in an enlarged Air India Group comprisiong Air India Express (Merged entity of Air India Express and Air Asia India) with a significant presence in all key Indian airline market segments. This will also bolster Singapore Airlines’ presence in India, strengthen its multi-hub strategy, and allow it to continue participating directly in this large and fast-growing aviation market.
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