New Delhi: Tata-Singapore Airlines Ltd (TSAL) on Monday announced that their airline being launched in India in October this year would be known as “Vistara”, which, in Sanskrit, means “limitless expanse”.
An “eight-point star”, derived from a mathematical expression of the universe, will be the logo of the new airline which expects to receive its Air Operators’ Permit from aviation regulator DGCA soon.
The airline is billing itself as the “finest full-service carrier” to operate in India. The airline will be headquartered in New Delhi. It will operate on domestic routes as of now since the government is yet to scrap the rule that an airline can operate overseas only after it has completed five years of domestic operations and has 20 aircraft in its fleet.
Top functionaries of the new airline said they were hoping for a repeal of this rule but in a statement, the airline, significantly, said it planned to increase its fleet to 20 aircraft by the end of its fifth year of operation.
At a conference to announce the brand-name of the new airline, TSAL chairman Prasad Menon said, “Tatas never gave up the dream to get back to the aviation sector despite nationalisation of Air India” several decades ago.
Top airline officials refused to discuss the pricing strategy of the airline, saying the airline has a “strategy” and that consumer research conducted by TSAL showed that there existed a market for a full-service carrier to operate in the country.
CEO of TSAL Phee Teik Yeoh said the new airline would focus on giving passengers an unparalleled experience and would focus on addressing issues faced by passengers while travelling such as anxiety and loss of individuality.
Mr. Yeoh further said, “We are in the last lap of the process of securing the AOP. There are a series of approvals which we have to get to the satisfaction of DGCA.” He added, “We expect to get the first aircraft in September and by end of 2014, we would have five aircraft in our fleet”. The Delhi-based airline has already decided to lease 20 Airbus A-320s, including seven A-320 Neo series planes which have the latest technology.
