Vistara airline will induct four more aircraft in its fleet this year as it plans to operate nearly 25 per cent more flights with the addition of three new destinations - Srinagar, Jammu and Kochi - in its network besides enhancing frequencies on the existing routes in coming summer schedule.
The joint venture carrier, in which Tata Sons holds 51 per cent stake while the rest is held by Singapore Airlines, currently operates 317 services per week with a fleet of nine Airbus A320 planes.
"We plan to double our domestic capacity this year by offering more flights, destinations and increased frequencies.
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"The addition of Jammu, Srinagar and Kochi to our route network coupled with the introduction of convenient same-day return flights on Delhi-Bengaluru in both directions and several new via and connecting flight options, represent the first phase of our growth plan this summer as we ramp up utilization and add new aircraft to our fleet," Vistara Chief Executive Officer Phee Teik Yeoh said in a release.
According to the release, 17 city pairs connected through direct (non-stop) flights; 16 additional city pairs connected through same aircraft 'via' flights, and over 40 additional city pairs connected through convenient single-stop connecting flights have been introduced in the summer schedule which commences from the last week of this month.
Vistara aims to increase the total number of flights to 580 a week from the current 317 with the proposed induction of four new Airbus A320 aircraft.
With the induction of four new aircraft in the course of the year, the airline will introduce additional new destinations and further increase frequency on its existing routes, it said, adding that by the end of October 2016, the total number of flights would increase 85 per cent relative to the current schedule.
About plans to fly overseas, the Vistara chief said the
airline management is keeping its board in the loop.
"We engage them on the strategy of our international operations. There have been few rounds. We are now looking on further refining the plan and hopefully very soon we will be able to secure approval before bringing the proposal to the promoters," he noted.
In the run up to start international operations, the airline continues to strengthen its customer value proposition with a slew of product and services.
"Last year we have introduced a quite number of ancillary services like fly early scheme, excess baggage purchase, corporate upgrade, affordable luxuries, lounge vouchers, upgrades at the airport essentially to ensure that we do not lose our footing on the ground in domestic when we go overseas," Yeoh said.
Besides, the airline is in the process of securing the mandatory IOSA certification for international operations from global airlines grouping, International Air Transport Association.
