Air India has finally set a date for the merger with Vistara. Starting November 12th, 2024, Vistara will no longer exist as a separate airline and will be fully integrated into Air India.
The goal of this merger is to create a unified brand under Air India, leveraging its international recognition.
Don’t worry—this change won’t cause any major disruptions for flyers. Your flights will remain the same, likely on the same aircraft you initially booked.
Here’s everything you need to know about this upcoming change.
Booking a Vistara Flight
You can continue using the Vistara website or mobile app for bookings until November 11th, 2024.
However, you won’t be able to book flights on Vistara airlines for travel from November 12th, 2024 onwards. For such bookings, you need to book on Air India, even for the sectors currently served by Vistara.
What happens to your existing Vistara bookings?
If your travel is before or on November 11th, 2024, your PNR number and e-ticket will remain valid and manageable through the Vistara platform. Your flight will continue to operate as planned without any changes to your booking.
For travel from November 12th, 2024 onwards, you’ll receive an Air India ticket with a new e-ticket number but the same PNR number. On your travel day, head to the Air India counter at the airport with your new ticket. You can view and manage your booking using your last name and PNR number on www.airindia.com.
Club Vistara Points, Vouchers, and Elite Status
Air India has already announced plans to migrate Club Vistara accounts into Air India’s system. Your elite status, vouchers, and points will be transferred to your Air India account post-migration.
You can already link your Club Vistara and Flying Returns accounts. Although a specific date for final migration hasn’t been announced yet, it’s expected that this process will be completed before November 11th, 2024, ensuring that Club Vistara members don’t face issues redeeming their benefits post-merger.
What About Vistara Credit Cards?
There hasn’t been any official news from banks or Air India regarding what happens to existing Vistara credit cards post-merger. Ideally, these cards should be reissued as Air India credit cards with similar benefits. However, I’m not holding my breath.
It would be a significant loss for Air India if they fail to retain millions of loyal users holding co-branded credit cards with Vistara.
Bottom Line
It’s finally time to bid farewell to the amazing Vistara brand. Starting November 12th, 2024, there will be no more Vistara—only Air India.
India has a huge aviation market but seems jinxed when it comes to maintaining quality airlines. Kingfisher went bankrupt; Jet Airways followed suit; now it’s time for Vistara’s integration into Air India.
Hopefully, this merger will help transform Air India into the reliable full-service carrier that India truly needs.
