This fiscal year, Vistara plans to add 10 aircraft and hire over 1,000 people

According to a senior executive, full-service airline Vistara has abandoned ambitions to fly to the US and instead hopes to add a total of 10 aircraft and recruit more than 1,000 personnel in the current fiscal year.

Currently, Vistara, which is planned to combine with Air India, has 61 aircraft in its fleet and around 5,200 employees.

In an interview last week, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan said that the failure of Go First had created a ready pool of talent, particularly pilots and cabin crew personnel.

“We hired them as well, much as Air India and IndiGo. We were careful to choose the appropriate quantity and individuals. We followed the standard procedure followed by every airline. Then there is the overall cabin crew employment market, where new hires are entering. We continue to draw in top talent, he told PTI.

From Go First, the airline has hired around 50 pilots. Kannan provided further information on Vistara’s recruiting goals, stating that the company will hire around 1,000 people this fiscal year and add a total of 10 aircraft.

“We need around 1,000 employees… till the conclusion of this fiscal year… One aircraft has arrived, and nine more, including three wide-bodies, still need to arrive. The remainder are A320s, he said.

He said that the 61 aircraft in the fleet of Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, are all in the air. Three wide body aircraft are owned by the fleet, while one is leased.

As previously anticipated, the airline has opted against flying to the US, according to Kannan. “The key reason is that I need a lot of planes to go to the US. At least three planes are required for a single daily flight from India to the United States. I have to wait for three planes, and I have no idea how far apart they will arrive. It will begin, and integration (will be) taking place,” he said.

The individuals who created the Vistara brand are going to remain there, and it’s always nice to depart on a positive note, said Kannan in light of the current merger process with Air India, after which the Vistara brand would cease to exist.

When asked what the Vistara brand was, he said, “Something that was built with a lot of attention, care, attention, pain, sweat, and money.” We are fortunate to be in a position where travelers are aware of our high reputation.

“Air India need Vistara residents. They are expanding… The problem is not whether or not people have jobs. What kind of employment they will have is the problem, he added. Singapore Airlines will own a 25.1% share in Air India as a result of the merger of Vistara and Air India, which was announced by Tata Group in November 2022. By March 2024, subject to regulatory clearances, the transaction is anticipated to be completed.

The Vistara CEO said that supply and demand is always at play when it comes to airfares.

There are many reasons why airline prices are so high. The first is Go First, since on the routes they were flying, capacity has decreased; the second is seasonality of demand; in May, all the places Go First used to travel are at their highest demand. Despite our best efforts, capacity has not recovered to the same degree as what Go First took away.

The “biggest solution (to have) is capacity addition,” he said. The civil aviation ministry requested airlines to develop a plan earlier this week in response to an increase in rates on certain routes.