Air India, Vistara Secure DGCA Approval to Merge Line Maintenance Operations
In a major step towards operational synergy, Air India and Vistara have received CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) 145 approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to consolidate their aircraft line maintenance operations, according to an official statement. This strategic integration will bring Vistara's Line Maintenance activities under Air India's facilities and scope, representing a significant milestone in unifying the maintenance resources of both airlines.
By leveraging the combined expertise and optimizing processes, resources and systems this merger will significantly enhance Air India's technical capabilities, ensuring greater self-reliance in fleet maintenance, and implement industry-leading practices across all MRO operations.This will result in optimising resources to enhance operational performance and reduce aircraft turnaround times to bolster on-time performance (OTP). With a unified maintenance team and resources, Air India will be better positioned to service a mixed fleet of widebody and narrowbody aircraft, enhancing schedule integrity and reliability of operations.
Air India has already brought line maintenance in-house at 12 stations across India, and this move will further enhance the airline's self-reliance and streamline its in-house maintenance capabilities. According to the release, the integration will centralize key technical activities related to aircraft and their components under a unified scope of work. This merger will not only strengthen the core line maintenance operations needed to keep the combined fleet of Air India and Vistara in top condition but also incorporate best industry practices for all MRO activities, thereby bolstering the overall capacity of Air India's engineering resources.
The combined strength of Air India's maintenance team will consolidate all aspects of work under a single umbrella, streamlining and coordinating the work processes and systems of the various technical teams previously involved, according to the release. This enhanced synergy will also ensure real-time access to records of all activities, allowing for quick diagnosis and troubleshooting of technical issues by tracing and correcting the relevant systems. Additionally, the merger will create economies of scale in resource mobilization and expand the pool of trained personnel to support various maintenance and checks for the Group's fleet, including Air India Express, whose aircraft have been serviced by the Vistara team, as stated in the release.
