Tata-SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), the aviation joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airline, has branded its new airline as Vistara, which is expected to start operations by October.
“We are in the last lap of the process of securing the Air Operator Permit. There are a series of approvals which we have to get to the satisfaction of Directorate General of Civil Aviation,” says Phee Teik Yeoh, the CEO of Vistara, a Sanskrit word for “limitless expanse”.
The airline will take delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A320-200, in September.
“By this calendar year, we would have five aircraft in our fleet,” he adds. The airline plans to increase the fleet by leasing 20 Airbus A-320s, including seven A320neos in the next five years.
Initially, the full service Vistara will operate from metro cities. “We are close to finalizing our route network. It will cover cities having a clear demand for full-service airline,” Yeoh says, without enumerating further details.
The airline will offer both business and economy class.
The company is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and SIA, with Singapore Airlines planning to invest $49 million and the Tatas providing the rest of the total $100 million investment.
The Tatas already have a partnership with Malaysian carrier AirAsia for a low-cost airline, which commenced operations on June 12 in India.
Yeoh exuded confidence on the yet to be operational airline, saying “ We are very bullish about the future” thanks to low air-travel penetration in the country of 1.25 billion. We expect a strong future for the new carrier.”
Allaying fears of a conflict of interests in holding stakes in two Indian airlines, Tata Group spokesman Mukund Rajan says, “AirAsia is a low-cost carrier, Vistara is a full-service carrier – they are in different spaces.”
Rajan, member of the Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian at Tata Sons, and director at TATA SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), says, “All of us at Tata are extremely pleased to have witnessed the coming together of all the elements that have led to the realisation of Vistara, a long cherished dream for the group that pioneered civil aviation in the country.”
Swee Wah Mak, executive vice-president commercial at SIA, and director at TSAL, says, “From a global investor’s perspective, the Indian aviation sector has a lot of potential for growth and I am delighted that SIA now has a fruitful role to play here.”
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