Air India Express scaled
The operational integration and legal merger of Air India Express Ltd and AIX Connect Pvt Ltd (earlier known as AirAsia India) have been approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian aviation watchdog. The two entities have now merged into a larger low-cost carrier operating in India and abroad.
With the merger completed, Air India Express will focus on a future growth and transformation agenda. The airline’s fleet has grown to 88 aircraft, with nearly four new aircraft joining each month. The fleet is expected to exceed 100 aircraft by the end of the current financial year, with a network footprint spanning across India, Gulf, and Southeast Asia, the airline says in a statement.
The number of routes AIX operates has risen from 74 to 171, and passenger carriage has increased by over 400 percent since the Tata group took over Air India in early 2022.
The formation of the merged entity, which will operate under the ‘Air India Express’ name and a unified airline code IX, marks the first step in the transformation journey of the Air India Group, which is merging four airlines into two. The group is simultaneously merging Vistara into Air India, which should be completed by early November this year.
Commenting on the merger, Aloke Singh, Managing Director of Air India Express, said, “About a year ago, we started the integration of AIX Connect and Air India Express, bringing the two organisations together behind a common brand. Alongside, we worked on the complex integration exercise, culminating today in the operational and legal merger of the two organisations.”
Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Air India and Chairman of Air India Express felt that the merged entity would cater to the growing demand for air travel around India and the region, especially amongst the country’s aspirational youth looking for fresh and more appealing value products.
The merger process for Air India Express was completed in less than a year since the airline’s new brand was unveiled. As an enabler for the merger, the harmonization of operational manuals and the transfer of air operator certificates (AOCs) were involved.
On Tuesday, Vikram Dev Dutt, Director General, DGCA, handed over the updated AOC to Aloke Singh in Campbell Wilson’s presence at the DGCA headquarters in New Delhi.
The build-up to the merger has not been without headaches. In May this year, newspapers reported that Air India Express had to cancel as many as 90 flights as about 200 crew reported sick, complaining about preferential treatment to people who were from AirAsia India. Employees also went on strike, which was called off only after Air India Express agreed to take back 25 fired members of staff.
In the same month, news appeared that the airline was also facing rostering problems, which forced it to cancel flights
