Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines (SIA) joint venture full service airline, Vistara is all set to start flying next month after it received the Air Operator Permit (AOP) from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday. Once Vistara takes on to the skies, it would become India’s third full service airline. The other two being Air India and Jet Airways. In the new Vistara Airways Tata Sons holds the majority 51% stake in the company and SIA has the rest. Vistara which is being started with an initial investment of $100 million has plans to have 20 aircraft in five years. The fleet of Vistara will consist of seven A320 planes and 13 A320 neos.
Speaking on the occassion of getting the license to fly, Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh was quoted as saying, “All our energies now are going to be concentrated towards fulfilling the Vistara brand promise. Our focus on customer service excellence coupled with unique product offerings will ensure seamless travel experience to our customers.”
Vistara chairman Prasad Menon said: “We are aware of the expectations we have to live up to and look forward to shaping a success story in Indian Aviation with the realization of this dream.”
Getting the AOP at a time when the other airlines like Spice Jet are trying to keep afloat comes as a shot in the arm of the Joint Venture as it has been trying to launch its service in September or October after after getting the aviation ministry’s no objection certificate. Vistara had applied for license on April 24. The new flight from Tata-SIA will have 87 weekly flights from Delhi to nice cities. In the initial phase Vistara would be connecting Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Srinagar and Patna. Tata-SIA plans to include more cities in the coming years looking at how the demand shapes up and also on the aviation policies of the new government at the centre.
