Baby Bump

Vistara shall be merged with Air India post receipt of requisite approvals. As part of the merger transaction, SIA shall also invest Rs 2,059 crore in Air India. Post the consolidation, SIA shall hold 25.1 per cent shareholding in Air India. The transaction is estimated to be completed by March 2024.

Earlier, it was said that the flight had to make an emergency landing. The airline told IANS that it was a precautionary turn around. "A technical snag was detected on Vistara flight UK 697 operating from Delhi to Amritsar on February 17. As a precautionary step, the pilots decided to turn back and land safely at the IGI Airport.

Vistara's Chief Executive, Vinod Kannan, said till now pandemic has triggered uncertainty and reiterated the importance of staying "agile". Nevertheless, he cited that the airline is observing a steady increase in traffic in February 2022 compared to the previous month.

"Kannan started his stint with Vistara as the Chief Strategy Office in June 2019 and took over as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2020 with responsibility for developing, executing, and sustaining Vistara's corporate strategy and ensuring the airline's commercial success," a statement said.

Vistara is scheduled to fly twice a week between the two cities - on Wednesdays and Sundays. "Paris is one of the most popular destinations in Europe and CDG an important airport for any airline intending to serve the region," Vistara Chief Executive Officer Leslie Thng said. "Given the strong economic and cultural ties, there is a high demand for direct connectivity between India and France, and therefore Paris fits our network very well."

The airline will operate these flights as part of the bilateral 'transport bubble' agreement between India and France. The airline will fly twice a week between the two cities -- on Wednesdays and Sundays. "We are very pleased to commence flights to Paris, a step that reflects our commitment to growing our global network," said Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara.

Thng, after leading Vistara for more than four years, will move on to take up a senior appointment with Singapore Airlines from January 1, 2022. At present, Kannan serves as Vistara's Chief Commercial Officer. He had joined the airline in June 2019 as the Chief Strategy Officer and currently heads network planning, revenue management, marketing, customer experience and cabin service operations, among others.

Accordingly, the aircraft, registered VT-TQE, arrived in Delhi from Airbus' production facility in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is one of the 13 Airbus A320neo that Vistara had purchased in 2018 as part of a larger order totaling 50 aircraft from the Airbus A320neo Family, including the Airbus A321neo aircraft as well.