Vistara
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Founded | 2013 | ||||||
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Commenced operations | 9 January 2015 | ||||||
Hubs | Indira Gandhi International Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Club Vistara | ||||||
Fleet size | 13 | ||||||
Destinations | 18 | ||||||
Company slogan | Fly the new feeling | ||||||
Parent company | Tata Sons | ||||||
Headquarters | Level 10, One Horizon Center, Golf Course Rd, Gurgaon | ||||||
Key people |
Bhaskar Bhat (Chairman) Phee Teik Yeoh (CEO) | ||||||
Employees | 900 (March 2016)[1] | ||||||
Website |
www |
Tata SIA Airlines Limited, operating as Vistara, is an Indian domestic airline based in Gurgaon with its hub at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport. The carrier, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, commenced operations on 9 January 2015 with its inaugural flight between Delhi and Mumbai. The airline had carried more than two million passengers by June 2016[2] and as of April 2016, has a 2.3% share of the domestic carrier market. The airline operates to eighteen destinations with a fleet of Airbus A320-200 aircraft. Vistara was the first airline to introduce premium economy seats on domestic routes in India.
History
The airline was founded in 2013 as a joint venture (JV) between India's conglomerate Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA).[3][4][5][6][7] The two companies had made a bid in the mid-1990s to launch a full service carrier in India that was unsuccessful, being denied regulatory approval by the Indian government.[8] With India opening up its airline sector for 49 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2012, Tata and SIA once again decided to float a JV airline company in India.[9] The JV, Tata SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), was envisaged as a premium full-service carrier to cater to the demands of high-end business travellers in India's civil aviation market dominated by low-cost carriers. India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board approved the JV in October 2013, allowing SIA to take a 49 percent stake in the airline.[10] The two parent companies initially pledged to invest a combined US$100mn as start-up capital, with Tata Sons owning 51 percent and Singapore Airlines owning the remaining 49 percent.[11] This was part of Tata's second major foray into the aviation sector along with a minority stake in AirAsia India.[12] The company's first venture, Tata Airlines, was established in the 1930s and later became the flag carrier Air India after nationalization.[13]
The company unveiled its brand identity "Vistara" on 11 August 2014.[4] The name was taken from the Sanskrit word Vistaar, meaning "limitless expanse".[14][15] Vistara received its air operator's certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 15 December 2014 and started operations on 9 January 2015.[12][16][17] Vistara became the first carrier to operate domestic services out of the new Terminal 2 at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.[18] On 24 August 2015, Vistara inaugurated the Aviation Security Training Institute, an in-house institute for training its cockpit and cabin crew, security staff and others related to aviation industry. The institute has secured the necessary approvals from the nodal body Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.[19] From the first month of operation, Vistara consistently achieved very high on-time performance (OTP) records of over 90 percent, the highest among India's domestic carriers.[20][21] On 20 August 2015, Vistara declared it had carried half a million passengers in just over seven months of operations.[22] As of February 2016, Vistara has a share of 2% in the domestic carrier market.[23]
Corporate affairs
On 15 April 2014,[24] Vistara chose Mr Phee Teik Yeoh as the chief executive officer (CEO) and Mr Giam Ming Toh[25] as the chief commercial officer (CCO), both from Singapore Airlines.[26]
In March 2015, Vistara shifted to its new office at the One Horizon Center tower in Sector 43, Gurgaon, a satellite city of Delhi.[27][28] Initially it started out with a three-member board comprising Swee Wah Mak (SIA group), Mukund Rajan and Prasad Menon (Tata group), with the latter as chairman.[29][30] In August 2015, the airline expanded the board by introducing two new members, Som Mittal and Sangeeta Pendurkar, along with an equity infusion of ₹2 billion (US$30 million), part of ₹5 billion (US$74 million) initially planned by Tata and SIA together.[31][32] In January 2016, Bhaskar Bhat, present Managing Director of Titan, joined as the new chairman following Prasad Menon's retirement.[33][34][35] In March 2016, Vistara appointed Sanjiv Kapoor as its chief strategy and commercial officer as the successor to Giam Ming Toh who was scheduled to leave in mid April 2016 following completion of his deputation at Vistara.[36]
Destinations
As of May 2016, Vistara flies to the following destinations within India:[37]
Interline agreements
Vistara has interline agreements with the following airlines:[39]
Fleet
As of October 2016, the Vistara fleet consists of the following aircraft:[43][44]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J | S | Y | Total | ||||
Airbus A320-200 | 13 | — | 8 | 24 | 126 | 158 | |
Airbus A320neo | — | 7 | TBA | Deliveries 2017 to June 2018.[43] | |||
Total | 13 | 7 |
Vistara took delivery of its first aircraft at New Delhi on 25 September 2014.[45] The airline took delivery of the last of its thirteen original Airbus A320 aircraft in October 2016[43] and plans to receive its seven Airbus A320neo aircraft by mid-2018.[43] In March 2015, Phee Teik Yeoh announced that the airline is planning to procure an unspecified number of both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft to enhance the domestic network and launch international flights within two years.[46][47]
Services
Cabin
Business class
Being a full-service carrier, Vistara offers 8 business class seats, two rows in 2-2 configuration, in its 158-seater Airbus A320-200 fleet. The business class seats are 20.12 inches (511 mm) wide with 42 inches (1,100 mm) seat pitch.[48][49]
Premium Economy
Vistara was the first airline in India to introduce Premium Economy class in the domestic market.[50] At present it offers 24 premium economy seats, four rows in 3-3 configuration, out of total 158 seats in the single aisle Airbus A320-200 aircraft in its fleet. Each being 18 inches (460 mm) wide and having a pitch of 33–36 inches (840–910 mm).[48]
In-flight entertainment
Vistara's Airbus A320-200s do not have in-flight entertainment screens installed and it provides pre-loaded tablets for its business-class fliers.[51] In March 2016, Vistara started beaming content directly to passengers' personal electronic devices through one-way Wi-Fi connection through BAE Systems IntelliCabin in-flight entertainment system.[52]
Catering
The in-flight food is catered by TajSATS Air Catering, another joint venture between Tata and a Singaporean company, headed by Chef Arun Batra, formerly the executive chef of the Taj Hotels group.[53] Vistara offers four different meals for each cabin for different time of the day — breakfast, refreshment, lunch and dinner with options of one vegetarian and one non-vegetarian dish in economy class; two vegetarian dishes and one non-vegetarian dish in premium economy; and two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian dishes for business-class cabin. The menu is typically changed every seventh day and there are different menus for lunch and dinner.[54] It also provides special meals upon request 24 hours before departure.[55][56]
Lounge
On 29 March 2016, Vistara inaugurated premium lounge service for its Business-class passengers and Club Vistara Gold card holders at the departure level of Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi. The lounge is spread across 250 square metres on the air-side and can seat 75 people at a time.[57]
Frequent-flyer program
Vistara uses Club Vistara as its frequent-flyer program;[58] it operates as a value based program and awards points on the basis of money spent on tickets rather that miles travelled by passengers.[59] On 29 January 2015, Vistara announced a partnership agreement with Singapore Airlines (SIA) which would allow Club Vistara members to earn and redeem miles with the KrisFlyer program on SIA and Silk Air flights and vice versa.[60]
See also
References
- ↑ "New way to fly: Vistara chief shakes up India's domestic travel". The Straits Times. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ↑ "Vistara looking at strategic partnerships to expand business". International Business Times. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ↑ "Airline Information: Air Vistara (Ch-aviation)". Ch-aviation. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- 1 2 "Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines 'Vistara' set for October launch". The Times of India. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara takes to the skies, operates first flight from Delhi to Mumbai". The Economic Times. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Vistara carries one million passengers". The Hindu. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ↑ "Tata, Singapore Airlines look to fly in Indian skies". Singapore Airlines (Press release). 19 September 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "Two decades in the departure lounge". Business Standard. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ↑ "Singapore Airlines-Tata joint venture proposal would be a big boost for SIA - and AirAsia?". CAPA. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ↑ "SIA, Tata proposal gets green light from India's foreign investment board". The Straits Times. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "SIA partners Tata group to set up new airline in India". The Straits Times. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- 1 2 Phadnis, Aneesh (9 January 2015). "With Vistara, a Tata airline is reborn". Business Standard. Mumbai. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ↑ "Tata forays into the skies with Vistara". The Pioneer. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Tata SIA christens its airline, Vistara". Tata Sons (Press release). 14 August 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara meaning". Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara gets air operator permit, to take off in Jan". Business Standard. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture airline Vistara gets flying permit, to announce schedule soon". The Economic Times. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara to operate out of Mumbai International Airport's new T2 terminal". The Economic Times. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ↑ "Tata-SIA joint venture carrier Vistara sets up security training institute". The Economic Times. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ↑ "We are still a crawling infant, wait for us to get up and run, says Vistara". Daily News and Analysis. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara's OTP stands at 89 percent in 1st month of operation". The Hindu. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara reaches 500,000 pax milestone". CAPA. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ↑ "India's domestic passenger demand up 25 percent: IATA". Business Standard. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "Vistara poaches key men from IndiGo, JetLite". Hindustan Times. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ↑ "Few takers for office space in metro cities". Financial Express. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ↑ "Battle of Class". Business Today. April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara spreads wings; to add Goa, Hyderabad flights by March". The Hindu. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ↑ "'People first': Vistara's top executives spending time with employees on the ground & tackling issues". The Economic Times. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ↑ "Tata Sons, SIA infuse Rs 500 cr in Vistara". Business Standard. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ↑ "Tata Group, Singapore Airlines boost Vistara's coffers". Ch-aviation. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ↑ "Titan Company Board of Directors". Titan. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ↑ "Bhaskar Bhat named Vistara chairman". Mint (newspaper). 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ↑ "Bhaskar Bhat joins Vistara as chairman". Business Standard. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ↑ "Former SpiceJet COO Sanjiv Kapoor joins Vistara as commercial and strategy chief". The Economic Times. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ↑ "Vistara Flight Schedule" (PDF). Vistara. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Vistara destinations". Vistara. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara Interline Patners". Vistara. Archived from the original on 2016-11-03. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ↑ "British Airways may expand its interline agreement with Vistara - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ↑ "India's Vistara takes delivery of first aircraft". ch-aviation. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Vistara airlines completes induction of Airbus A320 planes". The Indian Express. The Express Group. Press Trust of India. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ↑ "Vistara Fleet Information". TATA SIA Airlines Limited. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ↑ "Vistara takes delivery of first Airbus A320 aircraft in Delhi". Business Standard. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ↑ "Vistara plans to add international routes, expand fleet". The Economic Times. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ "20-aircraft target by 2018 is just the tip of the iceberg: Phee Teik Yeoh, Vistara CEO". Financial Express. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- 1 2 "Vistara reduces seats in premium class cabins". The Economic Times. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ↑ "Inflight review: Vistara Business Class: Airbus A320: Hyderabad – New Delhi". Bangalore Aviation. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara takes the premium economy way". Business Standard. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara to beam content to flyers' devices". The Times of India. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara selects BAE's in-flight entertainment system". The Economic Times. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ↑ "Food in high places". The Hindu. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara's Chef's Table: With Chef Arun Batra & Giam Ming Toh". Network Thought. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara:Inflight Dining". Vistara. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ↑ "Flying and feasting". The Hindu. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara unveils signature lounge at IGI airport". Business Standard. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "Club Vistara". Vistara. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ↑ "Full-service airlines Vistara, Jet Airways, Air India go full tilt at loyalty programmes". Financial Express. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ↑ "Vistara launches loyalty scheme with Singapore Airline's KrisFlyer programme". Daily News and Analysis. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
External links
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