Singapore Airlines will continue to support Vistara's growth, says CEO

Says Vistara was competing with even more airlines when it was formed, has established itself clearly as the leading full-service carrier in India

Singapore Airlines will continue to support Vistara's growth, its chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong said on Thursday.

"Vistara has always been competing with all the airlines in India and that happened even before Covid-19. In fact, when Vistara was first formed, there were many more airlines in India that they had to compete with. Some of them such as Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways obviously no longer exist. Hence, I do not see that change, as we

are in a very competitive industry," Goh said in a post result conference call.

"Vistara has established itself clearly as the leading full-service carrier in India with great reviews from our customers. In fact, it has gone further to many more international points during the pandemic. We will continue to support Vistara’s growth," he added.

Vistara is a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. Goh's remarks indicates that there is no immediate move to merge Vistara with Air India.

Last month the Tata group filed an application in the Competition Commission of India for the merger of AirAsia India with Air India. The group is also consolidating all its aviation offices in a single location in Gurgaon. But Vistara has been given an option to continue to use its existing facilities.

According to an aviation source, the Tata group intends to compete in both low cost and full service segments as it feels there is a vacuum in the premium space after the closure of Jet Airways in 2019.

"We continue to operate as an independent airline and both our parent companies remain invested in our growth and expansion plans. Our plans remain unchanged as we continue to focus on our organic growth, until we are told otherwise by our parent organizations," Vistara said in a statement.

"Our strategy is focused on densifying our domestic network while expanding our international footprint across continents. Vistara is on course to ramp up its fleet in order to strengthen its network globally. Currently, we have a fleet of 51 aircraft, and we expect to take the number to 70 by 2023," the airline added.