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Within three months of its launch, Vistara, a joint venture of Singapore Airlines and Indian conglomerate Tata Group, today announced the start of Delhi-Pune-Delhi flight. The airline will operate this flight on a daily basis.
Vistara has added Pune to its route network, making this the seventh city the full service airline will connect with its hub in Delhi. The other cities that Vistara connect to include Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bagdogra
The airline currently has six Airbus 320 aircraft in its fleet, and will add another three by taking its fleet to nine by the end of CY 2015.
"We wanted to operate two flights daily to enable the business traveller to come to this business hub in the morning and return the same evening, but there is no slot available at the airport. For Vistara, such destinations offer immense potential as their robust infrastructure, trade and travel. By end of this year,our total fleet size will grow to nine aircrafts ," said Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara. The airport at Pune belongs to the Indian Air Force.
Vistara plans to expand its fleet size and start flying to overseas destinations abroad within two years.
Sharing Vistara's expansion plans, Yeoh said, "Vistara will soon add more destinations and enhancements to its product and service offerings. We are leasing out 20 Airbus A320 aircrafts by 2019 from Singapore based BOC Aviation."
Commenting on 5/20 regulation, Yeoh added, "There are lots of opportunities. The 5/20 rule is a new ball game. India is a highly competitive market for air travel. Despite double-digit annual growth in travellers, domestic competition has kept fares low. Due to high operating costs, most of the airlines are struggling to make money. Ultimately, it is in favour of travellers and the aviation sector also."
Under the existing '5/20' rule, Indian airlines must be up and running for five years or possess 20 planes before they can start flying abroad. With this, new players like AirAsia India and Vistara, will be able to start international services without fulfilling either condition. Add to this, the government has proposed a new rule which says that domestic flying credits (DFCs) earned by flying to remote areas will help to decide a local airline's eligibility to fly on overseas routes.
