Mumbai: Tata-Singapore
Airlines promoted full-service carrier Vistara will now be able to start
operations only next year due to delay in grant of scheduled Air
Operator Permit (AOP). The airline had applied to the DGCA for the
permit in April and had planned to launch services by September.
"Vistara
has still not received the AOP and even if it gets it in the days to
come, the airline will take at least a month to launch," industry
sources said.
"Besides, any airline looks for few initial
bookings before the launch and as of now there is a total silence from
the airline on this front," they said. "We are in the final phase of
securing the air operator's permit (AOP). We are working with the
regulator to complete the remaining process expeditiously and look
forward to launch our services soon after receiving the permission," a
Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.
It will be all the more
difficult for New Delhi-based Vistara to hit the skies after the
arrival of winter season, which is known for thick foggy conditions in
the north leading to flight delays and cancellations, according to
sources.
The to-be-launched full service carrier, in which Tata
Sons holds 51 percent stake and Singapore Airlines the remaining 49
percent, is also going slow on inducting aircraft due to the delay in
flying permit. Against its target of five aircraft by March, so far it
has taken delivery of only two planes on lease.
The airline was
scheduled to take the third aircraft last month but has deferred it
owing to the delay in the obtaining AOP. On a long-term basis, the
airline has already decided to lease 20 Airbus A320s, including seven
fuel-efficient A320 Neos.
Once it launches, Vistara will be the
third full service carrier after state-run Air India and Jet Airways.
Vistara will operate from its base Delhi and connect Mumbai, Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Goa, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna in the first year,
as per the plan submitted to the regulator DGCA while applying for the
air operator's permit.
It plans to operate 87 flights in the
first year, with five leased Airbus A320s, and then scale it up to 301
flights by the fourth year. Apart from the delay in obtaining SOP, the
airline is also facing legal hurdles as the previous UPA government's
decision to approve the joint venture has been challenged in the Delhi
High Court saying the 49 percent FDI rule in aviation does not allow a
new airline with FDI, but only to existing airlines.
- Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com
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