From November 12, Vistara aircraft will be operated under Air India's banner, identifiable by a special four-digit flight code beginning with '2'. For example, flight UK 955 will become AI 2955, making it easier for customers to recognise when booking on airindia.com after this date.
In about a fortnight, Vistara - known for its premium service - will take off on its final flight before merging into the legacy of Air India. Set for November 12, the merger has sparked discussions on how these two distinct brands will blend.
Air India Group expects to induct 26 wide-body and narrow-body planes, and operate 81 per cent of its international flights with upgraded aircraft by the end of 2026, while overall capacity will remain almost unchanged next year.
Vistara will have to face stiff competition from Jet Airways, AirAsia
Vistara has poor load factors currently, it needs to bring down fares a bit to improve flight occupancy.
Vistara Chief Executive Officer Phee Teik Yeoh is expected to meet the senior management of BA over the next few days to discuss the partnership.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
Air India on Monday announced a new compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, with a guaranteed flying allowance of 40 hours per month for both categories of staff. While the flying allowance has been doubled for pilots, it has been introduced for flight attendants as part of the new compensation structure. Pilots will earn an additional amount as a reward based on the number of years of service with the airline and get an allowance while undergoing training for command or conversion to another aircraft type.
Finally the winter sun was streaming through the airplane's window, shining gloriously above the thick, frothy blanket of fog.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) move to ban Mastercard from issuing new cards for not complying with the local data storage guidelines may hit five private banks, a non-bank lender, and a major card-issuing company. The impact is expected to be felt for a few months as these players transition to other card networks. According to Nomura Research, RBL Bank, YES Bank, and Bajaj Finserv are the ones most impacted by the ban as all their credit card schemes are allied to Mastercard. Among others, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank have 35-40 per cent of their credit card schemes tied to Mastercard, the report said.
Most airlines lose 30 pilots a year. Vistara has lost only 2 in 18 months.
At present domestic airlines are not allowed to fly on international routes until they have 20 aircraft in fleet and have completed five years of operations.
J R D Tata and Air India... Mrigank Warrier explores one of India's eternal love stories.
The new initiative allows passengers to amend or cancel their booking without any penalty fee by simply using the "manage booking" facility
In contrast to its global peers, a lion's share of Delhi airport's growth came from domestic flyers, which, at 46.6 million, makes up for 73 per cent of the total number of passengers.
With its nominees on the board, Tata Sons will have the controlling stake of 51%.
Key events that rocked India Inc in 2014 and one of them is Vishal Sikka taking over reins at Infosys.
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