Airlines spar over remote flying norms

Trading of seats bone of contention between Vistara and older airlines

Vistara, the country’s newest full-service airline, increased its flight frequencies on most metro routes last June. However, this brought on new challenges for the airline’s network team. It had to find remote routes to fly to in order to comply with government rules. 

To improve regional connectivity, route dispersal guidelines require airlines to deploy a fixed capacity on routes that are unprofitable. Last month, Vistara failed to comply with the guidelines. Now intense lobbying has broken out over a proposal that aims to make it easier for airlines like Vistara to comply. IndiGo, Jet Airways and GoAir have opposed the proposal