Tata-SIA airline Vistara may take to the skies in October
Tata-SIA Airlines Limited (TSAL), on Monday, announced that the much-anticipated brand name of its new airline will be Vistara, or limitless in Sanskrit, with aubergine and gold as its colours. As some statutory clearances are yet to come in, the ‘full service’ airline may take to the skies only in October, company officials told a press conference.
Promising to provide a personal travelling experience to every traveller, the airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Phee Teik Teoh, said despite tough market conditions, the two partners — Tatas and Singapore International Airlines (SIA) — were banking on the new government to deliver on its promise of transforming the infrastructure and tourism structure to turn in profits.
“Our core belief is that we will be intuitively thoughtful about our guests’ needs from the time they contact us to the time they leave the airport. We would like to make a significant difference at every stage of their air travel experience, and truly bring back the joy of flying,” he added.
TSAL believes the growth in the Indian aviation market will largely conform to projections of becoming the third-largest market by 2020 with domestic passengers tripling to 175 million passengers from last year’s 60 million. “The airlines will play its role in stimulating the market,” observed Mukund Rajan, an old Tata hand and TSAL board member.
However, officials were short on concrete numbers regarding passenger figures, whether 20 leased aircraft at the end of the fifth year was a conservative figure and if all of them would be from the French Airbus stable. The Hindu had reported some aspects drawing on the filing before the Director-General of Civil Aviation, including its plans to touch most major metros within three years and to have double the number of higher class seats as compared to existing airlines.
The logo
The eight-pointed star at the centre of the logo reflects the ‘high standards’ Vistara is committed to. Vistara’s brand name and logo is the result of a design and creative process undertaken by Union Ray+Keshavan.
TSAL also unveiled the uniforms of crew and staff, designed by Abraham & Thakore, intended to capture the spirit of Vistara — elegant, practical and embodying the best of the Indian tradition.
“All of us at Tata are extremely pleased to have witnessed the coming together of all the elements that have led to the realisation of Vistara, a long-cherished dream for the group that pioneered civil aviation in the country. The creation of a new full-service carrier is a matter of great pride for us,” noted Dr. Rajan.
