New Delhi: Lately we have seen a lot of big news in the aviation sector. First Air India is going to Tata Group. Then Air India and Indigo placed orders for larger planes. And now soon we are going to see two mergers in this sector. Tata Group is working on a plan to bring all its airlines in one place. Air India and Vistara have told the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that their merger will not have any adverse effect on competition. Because there are many competitors present on the routes that the combined entity will fly, people close to the case have said. He said that the CCI investigation will not have any significant impact on the business. However, this may affect the timeline.
- CCI expressed concern over merger of Tata group airlines company
CCI is reviewing the merger of Air India and Vistara. Because Tata Group is implementing its airline integration plan. The regulator did not immediately approve the merger process. It has asked both airlines why the impact of the merger should not be investigated. The merger process is in the second phase, which will be discussed between the two parties and CCI. Antitrust regulators around the world examine the impact on competition through the origin and destination approach, said one person involved in the process. It further stated that, in this, each O&D operated by the company is treated as a separate market. Looking at the busiest markets, Air India, Air India Express and Vistara will see ample competition.
Tata Group is merging Vistara with Air India. Along with this it wants to create a single full service airline. Singapore Airlines will hold a 25.2 percent stake in the new airline. Meanwhile, AirAsia is in the process of merging with Air India Express to become a low-cost subsidiary of Air India.
According to data analytics firm Sirius, the new airline accounts for 49 percent of the total flights on the Delhi-Mumbai route. At the same time, IndiGo has a strong presence on this route with a 31 percent share of total flights. Similarly, the combined Air India Group will account for 52 percent of the total flights on the second busiest Delhi-Bengaluru route. Indigo has a 35 percent stake here. Talking about the international sector, Inner India Group will have a share of 23 percent in the total flights on the Delhi-Dubai route. Emirates, IndiGo and SpiceJet also have a strong presence on this route.