Vistara to fly overseas from second half of 2018

Hyderabad: Full service airline Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, will start its international operations by the second half of the calendar year 2018, chief executive Leslie Thng said on Thursday.

Vistara, which has started the process of applying for regulatory approvals for flying international, will initially start its short-haul international operations connecting south Asian destinations and other Asian destinations that are 2-4 hours away followed by ones 3-5 hours away, Thng said.

The airline will also start medium haul flights 1-2 years after starting its international operations.

“Meanwhile, we are continuing to expand our domestic operations and are interested to start long haul operations (India-US) in future,” Thng said adding that the airline is currently reviewing orders for a narrow-bodied and wide-bodied fleet.

Vistara, which currently has 19 aircraft in its fleet, will take the delivery of the 20th aircraft by March-end, 21st aircraft by May and 22nd aircraft by June, Thng said. All aircraft operated by Vistara are currently on lease.

However, the airline has no plans to join any international alliances but will look to enhance its code share with other airlines, Thng said. “Vistara’s second phase of growth (going international) will be much higher than its first phase of growth,” Thng added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.