Cracking Tata's Vistara enigma!

With Air India in Tata Group’s fold and the only carrier the Tatas own 100 percent as of now, the future for Vistara would be looked at with a keen eye

Vistara- the joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines, the second of its ventures in aviation, completed seven years of operations on January 9. The seven years have been a mixed bag for the airline and an indication of how cutthroat the Indian market is. The airline has grown to over 50 aircraft, which includes two widebody B787s, but is yet to make money.

Passengers and fleet

The airline has flown 30 million passengers since inception! This is quite a feat for an airline which flies most of its planes in three-class configurations in a market which is dominated by LCCs. This also comes amidst over 20 months of pandemic which has led to all growth plans being grounded. Even as Vistara navigated the aviation industry’s worst-ever crisis, Covid-19, it continued to grow in a measured way towards its vision and long-term plans. The airline registered a growth of 3.3 percentage points in market share, since July 2020, having grown from 4.2 percent (in July 2020) to 7.5 percent (in November 2021). Vistara expanded its fleet by over 25 percent since April 2020, to have 51 aircraft in its fleet as on date, and has significantly grown its global network to include seven new destinations across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Fleet challenges