Tag Archives: Vistara

The Empowered Group 6 (EG 6) constituted by Government of India and chaired by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, held a meeting with business leaders from the aviation industry and Ministry of Civil Aviation to discuss possibilities for strengthening operations and augmenting the recovery of the aviation sector under the new normal. The meeting was also attended by Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), which covers the functioning of banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and the National Pension System; and representatives of airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia, Vistara and Air India.

Former Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer (CSCO) at Vistara, Sanjiv Kapoor has joined GoAir as Advisor. Kapoor’s career spans for over two decades with airlines in Asia, Europe, and the US as the investment advisor, portfolio manager, and management consultant. He will advise GoAir on important business and government matters. Before Vistara, Kapoor has also worked with SpiceJet as its Chief Operating Officer. Commenting on his appointment, Vinay Dube, Chief Executive Officer, GoAir said, “I welcome Sanjiv to the ever-growing GoAir family. His strong domain knowledge and deep expertise in the aviation sector will help GoAir in multiple ways.” Kapoor has an MBA in Strategic Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College, Hanover. The other companies he worked with include Northwest Airlines, Bain and Company, Temasek Holdings (Singapore), and BCG (the Boston Consulting Group), among others.

Domestic air passenger traffic grew to 14.41 crore in 2019, an increase of just 3.74 per cent compared to 2018, revealed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).  The domestic air passenger traffic grew by 18.6 per cent to 13.89 crore in 2018. The decline in growth is attributed to the collapse of Jet Airways in April 2019. The passenger load factors of all major airlines – Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir, IndiGo, AirAsia India and Vistara. The domestic air passenger traffic in December 2019 increased by 2.56 per cent to 1.30 crore compared to the same month in 2018. In comparison, the growth in domestic traffic in November 2019 was 11.18 per cent.

The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for June 2019 has been 0.59 per cent, according to DGCA. Air Deccan recorded highest cancellations at 18.67 per cent, while the least were with IndiGo at 0.10 per cent. TruJet recorded 2.64 per cent and Air Asia was at 2.33 per cent. Vistara was at 1.11 per cent followed by Air India at 1.07 and SpiceJet at 0.58. GoaAir had only 0.22 per cent cancellations in June.

SpiceJet has recorded the highest Passenger Load Factor amongst all the domestic carriers in India, recording a 93.9 per cent PLF for the month of May, according to recent statistics revealed by DGCA. Closely following this number was GoAir with a PLF of 93.3 per cent, preceding IndiGo at 90.9 per cent. Fourth in line was Air Asia with 87.8 per cent, while Vistara recorded 85.6 per cent, which was followed by Air India at a PLF of 85 per cent.

Air Italy and Vistara have signed an interline commercial agreement to offer single tickets for all customers from Italy to a range of Indian destinations with effect from January 7. Under the agreement, Air Italy will offer its customers the opportunity to fly to and from Chennai, Goa, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kolkata and Hyderabad, in connection with its Milan Malpensa-Delhi and Milan Malpensa-Mumbai flights launched respectively on December 6 and 13, 2018. Rossen Dimitrov, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Air Italy, said, The commencement of our partnership with Vistara is great news for passengers of both airlines. We are glad to strengthen our relations with our Indian partner which has rapidly expanded its network and services in a very short time. Our India-bound customers departing from the US and from Italy can now benefit from a wider selection of cities in addition to Delhi and Mumbai within a single ticket. Our aim is to ensure our passengers a smooth and enjoyable flight and along with our commercial partner to enable them to discover every part of this magnificent country.

Vistara and Amadeus have renewed a multi-year distribution agreement that guarantees Vistara’s travel agency partners’ continued access to the airline’s full range of fares and prices through Amadeus. Amadeus Airline Fare Families supports Vistara in making its branded fares, called Vistara Freedom Fares, available through the Amadeus distribution channel. Amadeus Fare Families will empower travel agents with clear, structured information they need to advise their customers and proactively upsell from one fare family to the other based on each traveller’s needs and preferences. Vistara will also be looking at integrating ancillary services in the future as part of their product offerings. This partnership will enable Vistara to further grow its customer base by continuing to connect to travellers globally through the world’s largest community of travel sellers and buyers. By connecting to Amadeus’ innovative travel platform, Vistara is able to define and deliver enhanced offers, including rich content, to travel agents and travellers. The airline is also now able to differentiate its travel offers beyond just price, while ensuring that agencies and travellers have all the information at hand in order to make the right purchasing decisions. Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara, commented, “We are pleased to continue our successful partnership with Amadeus. Travel agencies are a key part of our strategy to serve our customers through the channel of their choice, both in India and internationally. With the new agreement, we will have access to Amadeus’ global travel agency network which has the widest reach of travellers globally and this is a significant agreement in our growth strategy.” Cyril Tetaz, Executive Vice President — Airlines, Amadeus, Asia Pacific, said, “We’re very proud to be able to …

India’s airlines are expected to induct an unprecedented 124-130 aircraft in FY2018/2019, with IndiGo accounting for close to half of this number, according to CAPA estimates on South Asia Aviation Outlook 2018. All Indian LCCs, except AirAsia India, are profitable, and are expected to report a combined profit of USD450 million to USD500 million. In contrast, FSCs are projected to lose USD825 million to USD850 million, although most of this is accounted for by Air India. Vistara is also loss making, while Jet Airways will either report a modest profit or be closer to break even. In 2018, Jet Airways is expected to place an additional order for 75 narrowbodies and to make a decision on its wide body plans, including the 10 787s on order that it has repeatedly deferred. Vistara will likely order 50 narrowbodies, together with a modest initial order for less than 10 widebodies, which may increase later. IndiGo and SpiceJet could place orders to support international expansion, including widebodies, and we do not rule out the possibility of a turboprop order by GoAir. Air India’s fleet plans are currently on hold pending its proposed privatisation.

Vistara and British Airways have signed a codeshare agreement, further deepening their already existing interline partnership. Under the agreement, British Airways will add its ‘BA’ designator code to approximately 60 Vistara-operated flights each day covering 13 Indian cities, including eight new virtual British Airways destinations, namely Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune. Additionally, the BA code will also be put on Vistara flights between Mumbai and Amritsar, and Chennai and Kolkata. Sales under the codeshare agreement are open on all channels and major GDS systems for flights starting September 27, 2018. Commenting on this milestone partnership, Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara said, “We are delighted to extend our existing interline and through check-in partnership with British Airways to a codeshare agreement. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to taking India’s finest airline brand beyond Indian borders, and it gives us the opportunity of welcoming travellers from around the world to experience the ‘new feeling of flying’ in India with Vistara. We share a lot in common with British Airways, key among which is our focus on delighting customers. We are confident that our respective customers will truly enjoy the reciprocal benefits of this collaboration.” Rishi Kapoor, Head of Alliances, British Airways said, “We have been flying to India for more than 90 years, so it is incredibly exciting for us to be able announce this partnership with such a well-respected carrier.”  

In June, a total of 677 passenger related complaints has been received by scheduled domestic airlines, according to a DGCA report. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried for the month of June has been around 0.60, the report further said.