Twenty-month-old Indian startup airline Vistara plans to adjust its strategy to fly internationally following the establishment of a new civil aviation policy in the subcontinent that allows carriers with 20 aircraft to fly abroad immediately. The previous mandate called for a minimum of five years of domestic flying with 20 aircraft.
Against a background of a booming economy and India’s fast growing aviation industry, Vistara expects to launch its international operations by 2018. Talks have begun “with two airlines for partnerships [to foreign destinations],” confirmed Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO of the Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines joint venture. While it has applied for a code-share agreement with parent Singapore Airlines, Vistara has signed 12 interline agreements including those with British Airways, Finnair, Air France-KLM, ANA and JAL.
Fleet addition has proved steady. “By June 2018, Vistara will get all new 20 A320s,” said Yeoh. The airline’s 13th aircraft will arrive in October, increasing its 430 weekly frequencies to 515 to 18 destinations. The first of seven CFM Leap-1A powered A320neos arrives next April. Yeoh said that the airline is also considering new widebodies.
The airline relaunched a frequent flier program on September 26, which Yeoh called “the fastest earn and burn, redemption and elite tier upgrades” compared with competitors Air India and Jet Airways. “We are confident the revamp will draw more passengers to Vistara,” he said. “Today we are reinventing our [frequent flier program]…There will be more [announcements] soon.”
“In another two years, Vistara is likely to match Jet Airways network,” said Vishok Mansingh, CEO of Mumbai-based consultancy CAV Aero Services. “This is good time to woo passengers to join their [frequent flier program] as it is tied to SIA, which is a big advantage.” He added the Star Alliance could likely make Vistara its regional alliance partner in coming years.
18/10/16 Neelam Mathews/AIN Online
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Against a background of a booming economy and India’s fast growing aviation industry, Vistara expects to launch its international operations by 2018. Talks have begun “with two airlines for partnerships [to foreign destinations],” confirmed Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO of the Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines joint venture. While it has applied for a code-share agreement with parent Singapore Airlines, Vistara has signed 12 interline agreements including those with British Airways, Finnair, Air France-KLM, ANA and JAL.
Fleet addition has proved steady. “By June 2018, Vistara will get all new 20 A320s,” said Yeoh. The airline’s 13th aircraft will arrive in October, increasing its 430 weekly frequencies to 515 to 18 destinations. The first of seven CFM Leap-1A powered A320neos arrives next April. Yeoh said that the airline is also considering new widebodies.
The airline relaunched a frequent flier program on September 26, which Yeoh called “the fastest earn and burn, redemption and elite tier upgrades” compared with competitors Air India and Jet Airways. “We are confident the revamp will draw more passengers to Vistara,” he said. “Today we are reinventing our [frequent flier program]…There will be more [announcements] soon.”
“In another two years, Vistara is likely to match Jet Airways network,” said Vishok Mansingh, CEO of Mumbai-based consultancy CAV Aero Services. “This is good time to woo passengers to join their [frequent flier program] as it is tied to SIA, which is a big advantage.” He added the Star Alliance could likely make Vistara its regional alliance partner in coming years.
18/10/16 Neelam Mathews/AIN Online
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