Merger of Vistara into Air India

Air India Rebranding

Air India shall be India’s leading domestic and international carrier with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft, making it India’s largest international carrier and second largest domestic carrier.

Air India, an airline fully owned by Tata Sons, has been the flag carrier of India. Tata Sons, via its fully owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited (“Talace)”, had acquired 100% stake in Air India on 27th January 2022.

Merger of Vistara into Air India

Vistara, a 51:49 Joint Venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Limited (“SIA”) was established in 2013 and is India’s leading full-service carrier with international operations in Middle East, Asia and Europe. 

TheCompetition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of Tata SIA Airlines into Air India, with certain conditions. The merger between the fully owned Tata airline Air India and sister airline Vistara had raised concerns about market power.

Air India New Logo

Futurebrands which has worked on rebranding of American Airlines and British luxury automobile brand Bentley and branding of the 2012 London Olympics – will work to refurbish Air India’s identity as it targets to become an airline of choice across the world

Air India revealed its new logo and livery colours. As part of its logo, Air India retained the red and white colours, with a dash of purple. The new logo will be called ‘The Vista.’ The airline also revealed its new tail design and theme song as part of the event.

The iconic 'Maharaja', which has served as Air India's mascot for decades, will "live on" and continue to "be part of the airline's journey into the future".

New Appointment in Air India

The airline has also hired Sunil Suresh, a former MakeMyTrip executive who has joined as chief marketing officer, and Colin Neubronner, who had earlier worked on branding of Singapore Airlines and Jet Airways, as part of a new brand-building team.

Air India has also announced plans to hire 4200 cabin crew and 900 pilots in the year 2023 to address the shortage which has caused a cancellation of six weekly flights to the US for the last three months.

New Aircraft Design

Air India has revealed a sleek new look for its planes, ahead of receiving its first A350 aircraft. Designed to capture “the essence of a bold new India”, the palette features bright red and sleek aubergine tones, complemented by gold highlights. The traditional Indian window shape, historically used by Air India, has been reimagined into a curved golden window frame.

On the tail fin, ribbons of the three colours sit side by side, with added shadows for depth. A jaali (net) pattern detail, inspired by the chakra from Air India's original logo, adorn the coloured ribbons.

470 new planes and a $400 million retrofit programme

Air India announces a record order for 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing, including 40 A350s, 20 787s and 10 777-9s, as well as 210 A320neo family jets and 190 737 MAXs. The first planes will enter service in late 2023, with the bulk to arrive from mid-2025.

The overhauling exercise will include adding the latest generation seats and best-in-class inflight entertainment across all cabin classes on its 27 Boeing 787-8 and 13 Boeing 777 aircraft.

The new look is only one part of Air India's transformation. The airline has already confirmed agreements to acquire 250 Airbus aircraft and 220 new Boeing jets, with deliveries starting in November 2023.

As part of the US$400 million retrofit programme, which will start next year, the airline's legacy fleet of 43 wide-body jets will be retrofitted with new seats, in-flight entertainment systems and upgraded Wi-Fi connectivity. By 2026, Air India will sport an entirely refreshed long-haul fleet.

Digital Transformation of Air India

New website, new mobile app and completely new customer care setup by year-end. Tata Group-backed Air India has made an investment of $200 million to modernise its digital systems, and digital engineering services through its Vihaan.AI transformation program. Vihaan.AI focuses on 5 key pillars - exceptional customer experience, robust operations, industry-best talent, industry leadership, and commercial efficiency and profitability. The airline expects to sustain the pace of investment over the next five years.