India: green light to Vistara-Air India merger
The national antitrust decided it: no danger of creating monopolies
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), the national antitrust body, has approved the merger between the national airline Air India (recently bought by the Tata Group) and the Tata SIA company (a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines), which owns the air carrier Vistara. After several months of evaluating the documents, the regulator has determined that the transaction does not involve the creation of monopolies in the skies.
The merger between Vistara and Air India airlines will pose a challenge to rival airline IndiGo, a low-cost carrier that currently holds a 57.5% share of the domestic route market (April 2023 data). The merger between the two airlines will lead to the creation of a giant with a fleet of around 210 aircraft (61 from Vistara, 148 from Air India) which will compete with IndiGo's 321 aircraft.
AVIONEWS - World Aeronautical Press Agency