12.8.14

Vistara


The Tata-Singapore Airlines combine unveiled Vistara, its much-awaited joint-venture full service carrier (FSC), and said the new `luxury' airline should fly by October, in time for Diwali. The announcement immediately caused a stir in the industry . Within hours, Jet Airways said it was disbanding its low-cost JetKonnect and turning into an FSC under the single brand, Jet.
While Vistara (which means `limitless expanse' in Sanskrit) will as per rules begin as a domestic airline, it is eying expanding beyond India's border soon. “We look forward to the repeal of the 5/20 rule (which says an Indian carrier must be in service for five years and have a fleet of 20 aircraft before flying overseas),“ TSAL CEO Phee Teik Yeoh said at the unveiling of the airline's branding, livery and crew uniform on Monday .
He said the airline--which promises to “redefine travel“--was in the “last lap“ of its licencing process. As of now, the Delhi based airline plans to have five Airbus A-320s by the end of this year and a fleet of 20 planes in five years.
The first Vistara aircraft will arrive next month. From 2016 to 2020, the carrier will get the seven A-320 new engine option aircraft which are more fuel efficient.
The Tata Group was clearly emotional with its dream of getting back into aviation materializing after several decades. Their previous two attempts with Singapore Airlines (SIA), including once to buy a stake in Air India (international) in 1999, had not been allowed to take off by business rivals. “We have been waiting for a very long time. Our relationship with SIA is a very special one that has withstood disappointment....
There is an old saying, `The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now',“ TSAL chairman Prasad Menon said. The Tata Group started Air India in 1932, which was nationalized in 1953, and it also helped SIA in its start.
The cabin crew uniform has been designed by fashion house Abraham & Thakore and will see the airhostesses wear smart kurtis and pants.
Vistara promises to have unprecedented luxury on board, in terms of comfort and passenger handling with Phee Teik saying the airline's philosophy would be “athithi devo bhav“. He added that a survey done by TSAL showed “Indian air travellers were made to feel a cog in the wheel or just a seat number“ and that Vistara will “change this by offering personalized services“.
The airline will connect its hub in Delhi to almost all important Indian cities, including the metros, within four years of launch. The cities on its network will include Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Srinagar, Jammu, Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata, Guwahati and Kochi. It does not expect to compete with Tata-AirAsia low cost JV as the two airlines will operate in different spaces.
In the first year, Tata-SIA will have 87 weekly flights from Delhi to nine cities, including Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Srinagar and Patna.



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