Singapore airlines will be merged with Tata Sons group under the new name of Singapore Airlines Group (SAG). The merger is expected to be completed by March 2023. The move follows the recent sale of a 49% stake in the carrier by Tata Sons to Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA).
Tata Sons bought into the airline in 2012 and has been looking to sell its holding as part of its plan to divest its entire stake in the carrier.
An official statement from Singapore Airlines said, “We look forward to working together with SAG as we continue our journey towards becoming one of the world’s leading airlines.” Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons are set to merge their respective airlines, Air India and Vistara, in a deal worth over $12 billion.
This is the largest-ever aviation merger between two companies from different countries. The merger will be completed by March 2021. The deal was made public by Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons on Monday evening. The combined airline will operate as Singapore Airlines with an “Air India” brand name. Airlines are usually merged to create more cost-effective operations, but this type of merger has not been seen before in the aviation industry.
Air India currently operates flights under the Air India brand name, while Vistara operates under the Vistara brand name. The newly merged entity will have its management team but will maintain its current headquarters in Mumbai.
The airline said that it plans to expand its fleet from the current 100 planes to 150 planes over the next three years and introduce new products such as premium economy seats on long-haul flights.
Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons are set to merge the struggling Air India and Vistara. The deal will be part of a wider plan to create a global airline company by merging several airlines under one brand. The move comes after Singapore Airlines failed to secure a stake in Jet Airways, which was merged with JetLite.
This is a tough time for Indian airlines, as growth has slowed down significantly in recent years. Air India’s parent company, IL&FS, has also been hit by bad debts and bankruptcy proceedings. In 2017, the company had to suspend flights due to unpaid bills. At that point, it was reported that IL&FS had liabilities of over Rs 2 lakh crore (over $33 billion).
However, a new report from Bloomberg shows that there’s now hope for Indian carriers. The report suggests that Singapore Airlines could purchase 50% of Air India’s equity at $2 billion per stake from Tata Sons (which owns 30%). This would give SIA full control over the airline’s operations while also allowing it access to some of India’s best airports and landing slots at Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata/Chennai airports—which are currently operated by SpiceJet and IndiGo respectively.
Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons are set to merge their respective airlines into a single entity. This will be called Vistara, which is based in Mumbai, India.
Singapore Airlines will be the majority shareholder of Vistara. They plan to use the brand name for both their flights and those that they partner with. Their partners include American Airlines, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates. They also plan to expand their presence through partnerships with other airlines.
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