NEW DELHI: The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has granted conditional approval for merging Vistara – which is owned 49% by Singapore Airlines (SIA) – into Air India. SIA will hold 25.1% stake in the merged AI, with Tatas having the remaining stake.
The CCCS “identified some competition concerns” in this transaction, especially as these airlines have a significant number of flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruchirapalli on the Indian side and Singapore on the other.
“Even though a number of competing airlines provide air passenger transport services on these routes, the parties have sustained substantial market share in recent years. CCCS also found that the price and capacity coordination between the parties arising from the confluence of the transactions would significantly restrict competition on the affected routes,” the regulator said in a statement.
The CCCS “identified some competition concerns” in this transaction, especially as these airlines have a significant number of flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Tiruchirapalli on the Indian side and Singapore on the other.
“Even though a number of competing airlines provide air passenger transport services on these routes, the parties have sustained substantial market share in recent years. CCCS also found that the price and capacity coordination between the parties arising from the confluence of the transactions would significantly restrict competition on the affected routes,” the regulator said in a statement.
