NCLT greenlights merger of Air India Express and AIX Connect

Air India Express will have 100 per cent shareholding of the merged entity

A few days after Air India and Vistara received the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), nod for their merger, low-cost carriers AIX Connect and Air India Express also received the same approval. AIX Connect is the new name given to erstwhile AirAsia India, as the brand licence of AirAsia expired in November. On June 11, the NCLT unit at Chandigarh approved the merger proposal.

The NCLT has directed Air India Express and AIX Connect to complete their merger process within nine months of filing the plea. The assets of AIX Connect will be shifted to Air India Express. AIX Connect will not wind up. Air India Express will have 100 per cent shareholding of the merged entity.

"AIX Connect is a domestic airline with a reach into 19 Indian cities. On the other hand, Air India Express is an international airline, with a major presence in the market between South India and the Middle East. It has a network across 34 destinations in the range within 5-6 hours of India. Both are subsidiaries of Air India Ltd," said an industry source. "Both airlines had filed a merger proposal under Sections 230 and 232 and other provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, which has been approved now. Judicial members of NCLT Chandigarh, Harnam Singh Thakur, and LN Gupta granted the approval," the NCLT order provided by the industry source states.

"With the merger approval of Air India and Vistara, Talace Private Limited has been bid goodbye. Talace was the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), through which TATA Group acquired the airline. Now, the parent company will be TATA Sons Ltd," the source added.

Merger speeding up

"Air India and Vistara have already received the approval from NCLT. Under this approval, the brand Vistara will be dissolved into Air India. TATA group will enter the year 2025 with just two brands-Air India and Air India Express. With the NCLT approval, both airlines can now start the integration of their equipment and staff members. Air India Express has already inherited four Airbus A320neos from AIX Connect. Gradually, all the aircraft will be shifted from the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of AIX Connect to Air India Express. Similarly, Vistara's fleet will be shifted to Air India," said the source.

"Both airlines will now be able to cross-utilise their airport assets, including using each other's ticket counters and issuing boarding passes. Air India Express is slowly increasing its network domestically as well as internationally. The airline is all set to launch its maiden international flight from Bengaluru. It will connect Bengaluru to Abu Dhabi. It will also enhance the frequency of the Mangaluru to Abu Dhabi route daily. It is also planning to enter the Bangladesh market," said an AIX staffer.

Officials that granted an NOC for merger
>> Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA)
>> Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
>> Regional Director of Northern Region
>> Registrar of Companies of Delhi & Haryana
>> Official liquidator attached to the High Court of Punjab & Haryana
>> Income Tax Department