Vistara poaches key men from IndiGo, JetLite

Sources say the arilines has inducted a senior pilot from IndiGo to head its safety team

Vistara, the Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture, which is awaiting a flying permit from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has inducted a senior pilot from IndiGo to head its safety team, according to sources.

Besides, the carrier has also picked up JetLite Quality Control Manager Deepak Joshi to be a part of its safety wing, sources familiar with the development told PTI.

Vistara, in which Tata Sons has 51 per cent stake with the rest being held by Singapore Airlines (SIA), is likely to take off next month subject to issuance of the air operator permit (AOP) by the DGCA.

“IndiGo senior Commander Ashutosh Verma has moved to Vistara where he has been made head of the safety wing,” the sources said.

Verma is a DGCA-approved examiner, trainer and instructor, a mandatory requirement for the key job in an airline, they said.

Joshi, who was handling some key responsibilities as quality control manager at JetLite, including aircraft deliveries, joined Vistara early this month, they said.

The private airline has already appointed C S Varadarajan as chief human resources officer, Phee Teik Yeoh as CEO, Giamming Toh as chief commercial officer and Niyant Maru as chief financial officer Capt Roshan Joshi from SIA will head the flight operations.

Last month, Tata Group and SIA named the carrier Vistara with Delhi as its headquarters. The airline will begin operations with one Airbus 320 and the number of aircraft will be scaled up to five over the next few years.