Indian full-service carrier Vistara has replaced its previous chairman, Prasad Menon, with consumer goods executive Bhaskar Bhat. The move took place just over a year since the joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group began operations.
Vistara has also appointed Sanjiv Kapur as its chief strategy and commercial officer to replace previous COO Giam Ming Toh. Kapur was previously COO at competing Indian carrier SpiceJet.
Retiring chairman Menon said Bhat would bring “an ideal blend of business building, marketing and sales expertise” to the venture. Bhat, who was a founder of Titan Watch Co., takes over from Menon as the airline is facing strong competition from Indian low-cost carriers (LCCs) and startups.
Vistara competes with LCCs such as IndiGo, GoAir, SpiceJet and AirAsia India. It has registered an average load factor of under 70%; IndiGo saw around 80% and SpiceJet over 90% in 2015.
11/02/16 Jeremy Torr/ATW
