Vistara

Tata SIA Airlines Limited, doing business as Vistara, was a full-service Indian airline based in Gurgaon, with its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport. A joint venture between Tata Sons (51 percent) and Singapore Airlines (49 percent), the carrier began operations on 9 January 2015 with its inaugural flight between Delhi and Mumbai. As of September 2024, it held a 10 percent share of the domestic airline market, making it the third largest domestic carrier behind IndiGo and Air India. The airline served 50 destinations using a fleet that included the Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo and Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Vistara ceased operations on 12 November 2024 following its merger with the national flag carrier, Air India.

The airline was founded in 2013 as a joint venture between India's conglomerate Tata Sons and Singapore's Singapore Airlines (SIA). The two organisations had made a bid in the mid-1990s to launch a full-service carrier in India that eventually prevailed as unsuccessful after being denied regulatory approval by the Indian government. In 2012, with India easing up foreign direct investment regulations for aviation—allowing up to 49% overseas ownership—Tata and SIA yet again embarked on floating a joint venture airline company in India. The joint venture, Tata SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), was envisaged as a premium full-service carrier to cater to the demands of high-end business travellers in India's civil aviation market dominated by low-cost carriers. India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board approved this venture in October 2013, allowing SIA to take a 49% stake in the airline. The two parent companies initially pledged to invest a combined US$100 million as start-up capital, with Tata Sons owning 51% and Singapore Airlines owning the remaining 49%. This was part of Tata's second major foray into the aviation sector along with a minority stake in AirAsia India. The company's maiden aviation venture, Tata Airlines, was established in the 1930s and later became the flag carrier Air India after its nationalisation.

The company unveiled its brand identity Vistara on 11 August 2014. The name took inspiration from the Sanskrit word vistāra, meaning "limitless expanse". Vistara received its air operator's certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 15 December 2014 and initiated operations on 9 January 2015. It became the first carrier to operate domestic services out of the new Terminal 2 at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. On 24 August 2015, Vistara inaugurated the Aviation Security Training Institute, an in-house institute for training its cockpit and cabin crew, security staff and personnel related to the aviation domain. The institute secured the necessary approvals from the nodal body Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. From the first month of operation, Vistara consistently achieved very high on-time performance records of over 90%, the highest among India's domestic carriers. On 20 August 2015, Vistara declared it had carried half a million passengers in just over seven months of operations. As of February 2016, Vistara has a share of 2% in the domestic carrier market, and had ferried over two million passengers by June 2016. Vistara received the membership of the International Air Transport Association in 2018.

Vistara announced on 11 July 2019 that their maiden international destination would be Singapore. The airline began its first international service from Delhi to Singapore on 6 August and from Mumbai to Singapore on 7 August, respectively, using the same Boeing 737-800 NG which had previously been operated by Jet Airways.

On 29 February 2020, the airline took the delivery of its first wide-body Boeing 787-9, becoming the first Indian airline to operate this aircraft. It awaited the delivery of five more such aircraft. On 28 May 2020, the airline operated its first commercial flight on the Boeing 787-9 on the Delhi-Kolkata route. On 28 August 2020, it started its first intercontinental flight between Delhi and London Heathrow.

After the acquisition of Air India by the Tata Group in January 2022, rumours of a merger between Vistara and Air India surfaced. On 2 September 2023, the Competition Commission of India approved the merger of Vistara with Air India. In November 2022, Tata Group and Singapore Airlines confirmed the merger of the two airlines. According to the plan, Singapore Airlines will take up a 25.1% stake in the combined entity.

On 4 May 2023, Vistara operated a Boeing 787-9 aircraft between Delhi and Mumbai with a mixture of 17% sustainable aviation fuel and 83% jet fuel, which cut down CO₂ emissions by 4500 kg. This was India's first commercial flight with sustainable aviation fuel.

On 8 January 2024, the Vistara CEO announced that he expected that all regulatory clearance for the merger into Air India shall be completed by mid-2024 and the merging of operations would complete by mid-2025. The National Company Law Tribunal approved the merger on 6 June. On 30 August 2024, Vistara announced that it would stop accepting new bookings from 3 September 2024 and merge with Air India on 12 November 2024. The merger was completed on 12 November 2024.