India’s Vistara and Akasa Air Change PR Firms

India’s airline industry is experiencing a major shake-up as two of the country’s newer carriers, Vistara and Akasa Air, switch up their PR support.

Tata Group’s Vistara has brought in Adfactors as its new PR firm, replacing Avian WE which had held the account for the past seven years. This comes as Tata announced plans to merge Vistara with Air India earlier in the year. Vistara VP and head of corporate communications Rashmi Soni confirmed the shift, as did an Adfactors representative.

Adfactors already handled PR for Air India as part of Tata Group’s consolidation with India’s biggest PR firm four years ago. The merger with Vistara means that Adfactors now handles PR for both airlines as they move towards becoming one.

Meanwhile, Akasa Air has hired Avian WE as its new PR firm. The airline, which began operations five months ago, had previously been supported by Ruder Finn.

The changes come at a time when Air India is facing a crisis involving an unruly passenger. The airline has hired new corporate communications to lead to help manage the situation.

The switch in PR firms is reflective of the changing landscape of India’s airline industry. With the merger of Vistara and Air India, it is likely that the two airlines will become increasingly intertwined, both in terms of operations and PR support.

It remains to be seen how the changes will affect the operations and public perception of the two airlines. With Adfactors and Avian WE on board, both Vistara and Akasa Air will be in very capable hands.