India’s youngest airline Vistara hopes its tie-up with Sharaf Travel will boost domestic ticket sales in the GCC and eventually lead to a route to the UAE.
The Dubai company will sell tickets for the airline in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, it announced last month.
The full-service carrier is also eyeing expansion abroad, with the UAE high on its wish list. But that would require a relaxation of existing rules which require that Indian carriers must complete five years of service before they can fly on international routes and have at least 20 aircraft.
Vistara has a fleet of six Airbus A320s. It will add two more by December and four aircraft next year. In 2018, it would take delivery of its 20th aircraft. Vistara expects to tap primarily corporate and business travellers in India.
Vistara is a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines.
“The UAE features prominently in our growth strategy outside India,” said Phee Teik Yeoh, the chief executive of Vistara. “We are working behind the scenes to make sure we are ready to fly overseas when the [rule] goes away; the aviation ministry of India is seriously working to amend the rules.” As of now, Vistara is in talks with international airlines that would enable it to connect international passengers alighting at its New Delhi and Mumbai hubs to its domestic routes on one ticket.
It is also in discussions with more than one UAE airline. It has tie-ups with Singapore Airlines, Singapore-based Silk Air, British Airways and FinnAir, among others.
Vistara has chosen seven countries, including the UAE, Singapore, Australia and Japan, that send a large number of travellers to India as its routes to expansion.
“We will honour the international baggage allowance in the domestic sector with confirmed onward international bookings even though normally the domestic sector allows 15 kilograms of baggage,” said Giam Ming Toh, the chief commercial officer of Vistara. “[The international airlines] now have the added choice to bring their customers to the far-flung corners of India.”
Sharaf Travel provides sales services to 21 airlines. It will add Bangladesh’s Regent Airways soon.
“Competition [for the Indian market] is growing, but so is the demand,” said Salah Sharaf, the chairman for Sharaf Travel.
Vistara currently flies to 10 destinations in India and plans to add two more cities – Bhubaneshwar and Varanasi – next month.
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