Vistara, a full-service carrier, plans to fly to international destinations starting with short haul flights of 3-4 hours from the second half of this year. It plans to fly long-haul international flights of 8-9 hours from 2019 end, according to its Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer, Sanjiv Kapoor.

Flying to international destination will happen after acquiring its 21st aircraft in May. As per government regulation, it is mandatory for an airline to have a fleet of 20 aircraft to fly to international destinations, he said.

International flights

The 3-year-old airline will also decide whether to have a joint venture with Singapore Airlines or go it alone for international flights, said Kapoor, who was here to launch the airline’s direct flight to Delhi from Chennai. Vistara currently has a fleet of 17 Airbus 320s, and will add four more by June, he said.

On the first possible international destination, Kapoor said it will be primarily from Delhi to a location in South-East Asia or Middle East that can be covered within 3-4 hours.

Chennai-Delhi service

On adding Chennai to its network, Kapoor said, “Even though we started late, we are starting with a bang.” The daily flight will leave at 7.40 am in Chennai to reach Delhi at 10.30. In the return direction, the flight will leave Delhi at 19.45 to reach Chennai at 22.40, he said.

From March 1, Vistara will start a direct service from Chennai to Port Blair. From March-end, it will start a twice daily flight between Chennai and Kolkata, and a direct daily flight from Chennai to Kochi, he said.

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