NEW DELHI • Vistara, an Indian full-service airline owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is considering starting direct flights to the United States as the Covid-19 pandemic increases demand for non-stop travel, a senior executive said last Friday.
While the specific timeframe and aircraft requirements are yet to be finalised, Vistara is studying various scenarios for direct flights, the airline's chief commercial officer Vinod Kannan told Reuters.
The coronavirus pandemic brought air travel to a grinding halt earlier this year as nations imposed travel bans. While travel has resumed to some extent, passenger numbers remain far below previous levels and a full recovery could take years.
Vistara has seen a rise in demand for non-stop flights, as passengers try to avoid stopovers to reduce the risk of getting infected - a trend it expects will continue in the future.
Flag carrier Air India is the only Indian airline currently offering direct flights to the US.
Mr Kannan said: "This means there is definitely an opportunity... to fly direct to the US, and it is an opportunity we are looking at."
Vistara, which started international flights last year, currently operates two Boeing wide-body planes and has four more on order, but Mr Kannan said the specifications and layout were not suited for direct flights to the US.
Whether Vistara would look at ordering new planes or leasing them is under discussion.
"In today's situation it is much easier to lease a wide-body compared with one year ago. Those opportunities and scenarios are being worked on," Mr Kannan said.
Prior to Covid-19, the airline flew to destinations like Bangkok and Singapore and had plans to start flying to Japan and Europe. Its international flights are now limited to destinations like London and Dubai, with which India has a bilateral "air bubble" arrangement to operate direct flights.
REUTERS