Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines and soon to be merged into Air India, has announced 7 new routes including 6 from Bengaluru.
Already operational
As of 11th March 2024, Vistara is operating 3-flights-a-day between Bengaluru and Kolkata. This was one of the few metro-metro routes where the airline did not have a presence. The airline has an early morning, an afternoon and an evening departure from Bengaluru, making the perfect for business travellers to make a day trip to the City of Joy or the Garden City.
As of 21st March 2024, the full-service carrier is also operating 2-flights-a-day between Bengaluru and Ahmedabad & a daily service between Bengaluru and Dehradun.
Upcoming routes
The airline has now announced another round of expansion from Bengaluru. The new routes are:
- Bengaluru-Udaipur (daily service starting 1st April 2024)
- Bengaluru-Thiruvananthapuram (twice-daily service from 31st March 2024)
- Bengaluru-Kochi (3-flights-a-day from 1st April 2024)
All of these new routes will be operated by all-Economy Airbus A320 aircraft.
Additionally, starting 31st March 2024, the airline will also operate a daily service between Ahmedabad and Goa Dabolim operated by an all-Economy Airbus A320 aircraft.
Stay up to date: Sign up for my newsletter to never miss latest Aviation and Travel news.
Hub building?
Vistara has traditionally operated to a destination from either Delhi or Mumbai or both. It’s been like this since the airline’s inception. Bengaluru has been a focus city for the airline until now. However, the introduction of these new routes from Bengaluru indicates that Vistara’s strategy is changing now.
The airline flies from Delhi and Mumbai to Kolkata, Dehradun, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. It also flies from Kolkata to Port Blair. The addition of flights to these destinations from Bengaluru means that Vistara is increasing presence at existing destinations rather than introducing a new one. This leads to increased station economics (station here means a destination).
Bengaluru is the busiest in South India and it presents a large opportunity for growth. IndiGo is currently the largest carrier operating from Bengaluru while Air Asia India (now known as AIX Connect) comes second. Vistara and Akasa Air are neck-to-neck in terms of daily departures from Bengaluru but this round of expansion of Vistara might change the numbers.
Featured image by Vistara
What do you think of Vistara’s 7 new routes and its expansion from Bengaluru? Let me know in the comments section below.
Follow IH Aviation and Travel on Social Media on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.