Vistara flies 80% more pax in Jan-Apr; to up 30% more flights

The full-service carrier Vistara today said its traffic grew by a healthy 80 per cent in the January-April period while it recorded a 7 percentage points increase in its average load factor to 82 per cent.

The Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture also increased its fleet capacity by 44 per cent in the period, airline said, adding it will increase its weekly flights by 30 per cent, taking the total to over 700 flights a week.

In absolute terms, the airline flew 1.15 million passengers during the first four months of the year over 6,40,000 in the same period a year ago, it said.
 

This was possible as the airline flew 68 per cent more flights per week, from 328 to 551 during this period, while the number of destinations grew from 13 to 19 as it added four more Airbus A320s taking the fleet strength to 13.

"The improved performance was driven by higher utilisation of aircraft compared to the same period last year, coupled with a 7 percentage points increase in its average load factor from 75 to 82 per cent. The number of destinations flown increased 19 from 13 cities," Sanjiv Kapoor, chief strategy & commercial officer at the airline said.

Kapoor also said during the period the airline has aggressively ramped up its network and aircraft utilisation, and has also focused on filling its planes through a combination of attractive fares especially for those willing to plan and book in advance, along with improved network and superior customer experience.

"Our load factor in the economy class has been the highest in the industry consistently for the last few months, with load factors in the premium economy and the business class growing steadily too," Kapoor said.

Vistara will continue to expand significantly this year, as it adds the fleet capacity in the coming months, he said, adding by the end of the summer season, Vistara will add a further 30 per cent to its weekly flights, taking the total to over 700 flights a week.

"These additional flights will result in higher frequencies between key metros, with Delhi-Mumbai going to 10 flights a day, and Delhi-Bangalore five flights and Delhi-Pune to three times daily," Kapoor added.