Vistara set to launch international operations soon for Asia market

Indian domestic airline Vistara is planning big, as it is toying with the idea of launching its international operations soon. The airline plans to operate flights to popular foreign tourist destinations including Bangkok, Phuket, Colombo and Male, to make it the second full-service carrier to go overseas after Jet Airways, said a Financial Chronicle report.
 
Notably, Jet Airways began flying on foreign routes almost a decade-and-a-half back, but Vistara appears set to offer consumers more flying choices at competitive ticket prices.
 
Backed by the Tata group and global aviation biggie Singapore International Airlines (SIA), Vistara is reportedly set to trigger a price war on these routes, by offering plans to operate seven flights a week, comprising 1,148 seats, to each city. The startup carrier is currently in the process of taking regulatory approvals, an industry source told FC.
 
According to the report, for the winter schedule that commences from October and ends in March, Vistara plans to operate daily flights to the Gulf, Bangladesh and Singapore. SIA has its base in Singapore and Vistara will reportdly be able to leverage that connection in its efforts to score over its competitors in terms of onward passenger traffic, airport charges and distribution network.
 
Bird group executive director Ankur Bhatia reportedly gave a thumbs-up to the choice of Vistara’s first set of international destinations, saying it will give the airline experience to launch medium and long-haul flights from India in future. “The airline would have a ready-made distribution set-up in those markets and so it will do well. If they maintain service level consistency and have good flight timings, they will certainly be very successful,” he told FC. 
 
Bhatia further told FC, "Because all the sectors Vistara has proposed to fly to are growing, I don’t think it will eat into the competition. But as soon as they start operations, there is bound to be some pressure on rivals.” 
 
Vistara, which operates a fleet of 21 aircraft, recently agreed to place firm orders with Airbus for 13 aircraft from the A320neo family and with Boeing for six 787-9 Dreamliners, said the report, adding that the deals together are valued at $3.1 billion, based on published list prices.
 
The international operations of Vistara, which is one of the fast-growing airlines, would reportedly help its parent firm SIA to pick up passengers for its long-haul flights. Recently, Singapore Airlines announced that it would launch non-stop flights between Singapore and Los Angeles from November.
 
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The report added that the SIA would get feed from India for its ultra-long-haul flight to the US.