Vistara appoints general sales agent for Gulf

Wants to sell its tickets and services in the region where it does not fly

Tata-SIA joint venture airline Vistara today said it has appointed Dubai-based Sharaf Travels as its general sales agent (GSA) for the Gulf market to sell its tickets and services in the region where it does not fly.

Sharaf will represent Vistara in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) territories of UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the airline said in a release.

The UAE conglomerate currently provides GSA sales and distribution services to over 19 major airlines globally.

"The Gulf countries are among the fastest growing in the world today. Vistara is thrilled to have Sharaf Travels as its partner to lead its sales and servicing activities in the Middle East," Vistara chief executive Phee Teik Yeoh said in a release.

Sharaf Travels will help Vistara provide a personalised and seamless travel experience to our customers from the region, he said.

A GSA is a sales representative for an airline in a specific country or region, responsible for selling all products including tickets and cargo services in the region where the airline does not operate.

Commenting on the partnership, Sharaf Group President Ibrahim Sharaf said "we are honoured to represent Vistara and reinforce the airline's commitment to provide a personalised and seamless flying experience for its customers from the GCC region. Our core strategy will be to engage with leading travel agents/tour operators and passengers by providing valuable support and service on behalf of Vistara."

The Delhi-based full-service carrier, a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, currently operates domestic flights to 10 destinations of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati and Bagdogra while it would plans to add Bhubaneswar in its route network from October one.

At present, an Indian carrier is allowed to fly on international routes only when it has completed five years of domestic operations and has a minimum of 20 aircraft fleet. Vistara had started its services in January this year and currently has a fleet of six Airbus A320s.

Though both Vistara and another new entrant AirAsia India are pitching for easier international flying norms for domestic carriers, the old guards under the banner of Federation of India Airlines (FIA) are vehemently opposed to any such relaxation.