Sisira Kanta Dash has been appointed as the new Chief Technical Officer (CTO) for Air India, effective from June. He will be replacing Arun Kashyap, who is joining SpiceJet as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Dash as a Senior Vice-President (VP) and Head of Engineering at Vistara, and his appointment suggests a potential merger of the two airlines. This move may also indicate that senior Vistara executives may occupy key positions in the merged entity. Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA) and is set to merge with a rejuvenated Air India under the Tata Group. Meanwhile, SpiceJet’s appointment of COO is aimed at reinvigorating the airline, which has nearly 30 grounded planes and a sliding market share.