Tata Sons-run domestic airlines Air India and Vistara have conveyed to the antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) that a proposed merger of the two airlines won’t impact the competition as rivals are present on most routes that the combines entity will fly.
As per report by The Economi Times, the CCI’s decision to review the Air India and Vistara’s merger will not have any material business impact, but it can delay the process.
Earlier, CCI had issued notice to both airlines seeking mergers on why a probe of the impact of the merger should not be probed. According to competition law, the antitrust body has the power to halt any acquisition in case there are concerns over developing any anti-competitive practices post the acquisition or merger.
If the airlines receive a green light from CCI, Air India will become the country’s largest international airline and second largest domestic carrier. Air India, recently acquired by Tata Group, plans to modernise its fleet, revenue management, and operational systems.
The combined Air India group will have 49 per cent of the total flights on the Delhi-Mumbai route. It is followed by IndiGo, which is India’s largest airline as per market share, which has 31 per cent of total flights on the same route.