Vistara awaits necessary approvals on Leslie Thng's appointment as CEO

Mumbai: Full service carrier Vistara is awaiting "necessary" approvals on the appointment of Leslie Thng as its Chief Executive Officer, whose name for the top job was announced in July.

The incumbent, Phee Teik Yeoh, is set to join back his parent airline SIA in a senior position.

Yeoh has been steering Vistara since the launch of its operations in January 2015.

"Necessary approvals (on the appointment of Leslie as CEO) are still not in place," a source close to the development said.

Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.

The board of Vistara and the airline's two promoters had named Thng to succeed Yeoh as chief executive from October.

His appointment to the position is subject to the approval from the government, the airline had said.

Thng will lead Vistara in its next phase of growth, including international operations, building on the solid foundation and momentum achieved by the airline under the leadership of Phee Teik Yeoh, Vistara had said on his appointment.

The Delhi-based airline has already announced its plans to fly overseas from the second half of the next year.

Thng started his career at Singapore Airlines and has held many senior positions at the airline.

Prior to becoming the chief commercial officer at Budget Aviation Holdings, a Singapore Airlines-owned holding company, he was the CEO of SilkAir.

Vistara currently operates about 100 daily flights to 21 destinations and has a fleet of 16 Airbus A320 aircraft in three class configuration -- business, premium economy and economy.