TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
Vistara’s integration into Air India will catapult the Air India group to a 300+ aircraft powerhouse by the end of this year, solidifying their position as a major player, says Kaizad Postwalla, Head of International Sales – North America and GMEA at Air India. Postwalla had been with the Singapore Airlines Group for over 20 years and initially managed corporate sales for the India team at Singapore Airlines.
TT Bureau
What are the key highlights of the merger?
Vistara’s integration into Air India will catapult the Air India group to a 300+ aircraft powerhouse by the end of this year, solidifying our position as a major player. With the implementation of the merger, customers of Air India and Vistara will have more options and greater choice across the combined airline’s robust worldwide route network. This means more flight options, the choice of more convenient times, and flights to more new destinations, in India and across the world. With a new aircraft arriving every six days from Air India’s orders with Airbus and Boeing for 470 aircraft, the combined airline will have one of the most modern and efficient
fleets in the industry with world-class products and an enhanced travel experience.
What are the new offerings for agents?
After the success of branded fare families on domestic routes, we introduced the menu-based pricing model on international routes as well. The fare families are designed to let our guests choose the kind of fare and services that best suit their requirement, given that travellers today have varied preferences, and a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer ideal. Another key development is our work on the codeshare partnership with Air India Express. This will enable our travel agent partners to use Air India document to cover both Air India and Air India Express sectors through GDS. We also have a codeshare agreement and Special Prorate Agreement (SPA) with Vistara, which enables Air India flights to be sold on international routes paired with Vistara’s domestic sectors. These initiatives are designed to significantly expand the network available to our agents, providing them with more options to sell, not just within/ to/ from India, but also beyond. We are particularly focused on promoting International-to-International connectivity and look forward to the support of our travel partners in the Gulf to grow the segment as we continue to expand our route network globally.
Could you share further plans?
We have significantly expanded our route network over the last two years as we added more than 40 new aircraft to Air India’s fleet, including the brand-new Airbus A350s. The A350s started operating to Dubai earlier this year and will now be deployed on the Delhi-London Heathrow route next month, followed by Delhi-New York JFK in November. Our codeshare with Air India Express also opens up a much wider network. It won’t just be point-to-point (P2P) connections anymore, but an expanded network from international to domestic (I2D).
