On the back of induction of new aircraft as well as more international flights, full service carrier Vistara has started operating 300 flights per day beginning this month, Deepak Rajawat, the airline’s chief commercial officer, told FE. “We have been gradually adding capacity and recently operated 300 flights in a day for the first time since inception on September 1, 2023,” he said. Prior to this, the carrier was operating around 270 flights per day.
“We have been observing a steady demand across the network throughout the July-September quarter, which is considered to be a weak period for domestic travel historically,” Rajawat said.
The airline has witnessed consistent demand across its international network, especially on the long-haul routes. Besides, traffic has remained steady across domestic routes spanning metros and leisure destinations, Rajawat said.
According to Rajawat, the airline currently connects 32 domestic and 15 international destinations with a fleet of 61 aircraft, including 46 Airbus A320neo, 10 Airbus A321 and five Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
“We received our fifth Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft recently. This along with the remaining two that are expected to be delivered in the coming months, will enable us to enhance connectivity on our long-haul routes and also introduce a few new destinations,” he said.
Rajawat added: “We have around 35% of our capacity deployed on international routes and 65% within the country. We hope to further increase the share of international operations in the coming months.”
This strategy is in line with the airline’s plans to increase its share of international operations to 40% by 2023-end.