The four Tata Group airlines have completed the harmonisation of operating manuals in the run-up to the Vistara-Air India merger and amalgamation of AIX Connect with Air India Express, a company statement said on Monday.
Following the completion of the harmonisation of the operating manuals, Air India said there will be two separate manuals, one for the full-service carrier Air India and the other for the low-cost cost-carrier, Air India Express. Before this, all four airlines had separate operating manuals.
The harmonisation will enable Tata Group airlines’ to align best practices and adopt common operating procedures.
Over the last 18 months, a team of more than 100 members have worked to align on the best practices and adopt common operating procedures, Air India said.
“This is an important milestone in the merger of the Tata Group airlines,” Air India managing director and CEO, Campbell Wilson said.
Air India and group companies are now initiating the necessary crew training to action the harmonised processes, the statement said.
At present, Tata Group fully owns three airlines — Air India, Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) — while it holds a majority of 51% in Vistara. Singapore Airlines holds the remaining 49% in Vistara.
As part of the restructuring plan, Air India Express and AIX Connect have been merged to create a no-frills airline, while the combined entity of Air India and Vistara will be the full-service carrier.
The Group is pushing to complete the merger by the end of this year. However, Wilson has stated that customer-facing elements, including Vistara’s brand identity, will remain unchanged till 2025.