At the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, passengers took their aubergine-colored seats as boarding gates closed and last passenger calls were made. Passengers were told by Captain Adarsh Mohan that he was piloting the Vistara aircraft "one last time."

The warning was required because, on Monday, Vistara, a 10-year-old brand that had merged with Air India, was flying into the sunset.

Following Captain Adarsh Mohan's announcement, a few of the younger passengers took pictures of the cabin's subdued purple-orange mood lights. They also took selfies on the aircraft. There was a special free dessert on the menu for this special day. The flight crew provided a strawberry pastry with vanilla sauce on top as a farewell treat in addition to their regular meals and drinks.

When this reporter was waiting to catch a Vistara flight on its last day earlier in the day, the final atmosphere had already taken hold in terminal 2 of the actual Bengaluru airport. Vistara flight UK 854 was operating behind time, with over an hour-long delay in boarding. The flight's delayed arrival in Bengaluru was ascribed by the ground crew to Mumbai's air traffic congestion. Since today is one of the airline's final flights as Vistara, some delays are to be expected. On the Bengaluru-Mumbai trip, a fifty-year-old financial professional stated, "It's one of the few brands that travelers will miss booking from now on."

At the airport check-in counters, the shift in leadership was evident. The Vistara employees had to ask team Air India for help because of the long lines outside the airline's check-in desks. In order to relieve strain, staff wearing Air India lanyards intervened and opened two of the counters.

"Even though operational integration can take a little longer, from tomorrow, it's just Air India for us. As a combined company, we're eager to see how we can function," a Vistara employee stated.

Vistara aircraft will be operated under the Air India name starting on November 12 and will be recognizable by a unique four-digit flight code that starts with "2."

Most aspects of the airline's in-flight experience, including as routes, schedules, cabin crew, menu, cutlery, and devices, will stay the same for a while in order to guarantee that passengers like Prabhashankar feel as little disruption as possible.

"I'm experiencing a range of emotions today. We are one of the top airlines in the world. The fact that I will still be able to don the aubergine-colored uniform until February of next year is encouraging," a cabin crew member stated.

"Vistara pioneered premium economy in domestic aviation and set new standards in Indian skies." For the most part, it stands out for its food and service standards, according to Ameya Joshi, creator of the aviation blog Network Thoughts.

Nearly ten years have passed since Vistara began operating with three Airbus aircraft in 2015, when it merged with Air India. An investment of Rs9,900 crore was made in the airline, which was a 51:49 joint venture between the Tata group and Singapore Airlines. It now had a fleet of 70 aircraft and flew over 2,400 times a week.

The merger was finalized over two years after it was first announced. In order to create synergies and gain market share in the rapidly expanding aviation industry, the Tata group and Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced in 2022 that they had reached an agreement to merge Vistara with Air India.
Pilot agitation and other turbulence were part of the process.

Passengers would still value the "Vistara feel," nevertheless. even following the merger. Some stated that since it would be their final flight with the company, they would treasure their boarding cards.

"I hope the old feeling of flying with them continues to remain the same, even though their tagline today is "Fly a new feeling," said another passenger.