Tata-Singapore Airlines promoted full-service carrier Vistara will now start operations only next year due to delay in grant of scheduled Air Operators’ Permit (AOP).
The airline had applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the permit in April and had planned to launch services by September.
“Vistara has still not received the AOP and even if it gets it in the days to come, the airline will take at least a month to launch,” industry sources told PTI.
“Besides, any airline looks for few initial bookings before the launch and as of now there is a total silence from the airline on this front,” they said.
“We are in the final phase of securing the Air Operators’ Permit (AOP). We are working with the regulator to complete the remaining process expeditiously and look forward to launch our services soon after receiving the permission,” a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.
The to-be-launched full service carrier, in which Tata Sons holds 51 per cent stake and Singapore Airlines the remaining 49 per cent, is also going slow on inducting aircraft due to the delay in flying permit.
It has taken delivery of only two planes on lease. The airline was scheduled to take the third aircraft last month but has deferred it owing to the delay in the obtaining AOP.
On a long-term basis, the airline has already decided to lease 20 Airbus A320s, including seven fuel-efficient A320 Neos.
Vistara will operate from its base Delhi and will fly to Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna in the first year, as per the plan submitted to the regulator DGCA while applying for the Air Operators’ Permit.
It plans to operate 87 flights in the first year, with five leased Airbus A320s, and then scale it up to 301 flights by the fourth year.
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