Edition 48
Over the last few months, I took more Vistara flights than IndiGo flights – a very rare thing for me, who would typically swear by the efficiency of IndiGo. This included a pair of flights on the Dreamliner. More often than not the difference between Economy and Premium Economy was lucrative to book the later and in most cases, the service was flawless. Except one, all flights were on-time; had better on-time performance than comparable IndiGo flights in the same time band and offered better terminal experience at Delhi.
The flights were taken both, pre and post the March end / early April fiasco at Vistara where operations were impacted and flights were subsequently curtailed. The quality of meals, prompt service, priority tagging of baggage (which is not possible any more in IndiGo, even as a paid service) added to the convenience.
Indian aviation is brutal. The Tata – SIA duo have invested a considerable amount in running Vistara – which has never made money, in its over decade of existence as a company and nearly a decade of flying. With 70 planes, the fall of Jet Airways, wide body induction and coming out stronger on the other side of COVID, did Vistara reach a critical mass from where it could command a premium with a niche market, an optimised network which would feed its international services and be a preferred choice for international carriers as a local partner?
For a decade of efforts, investments, brand building, market education in three classes – all which has drained money for the two investors, the time for payback was probably now with two hubs, widebody expansion, domestic transfer hub and reach. Had it not been for the privatisation of Air India, would Vistara been better positioned towards profitability and soaring higher? This gets me to remember the song from the 1950s written by Prem Dhawan and sung by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar, but made famous later by Jagjit Singh “Seene Mein Sulagte Hai Armaan ”. The very famous words which say “do chaar kadam jab manjil thi, kismat ne thokar khae hai” (When destination was just two or four steps away, fate has pushed it away). As the airline merges with Air India, it possibly is the most non controversial airline to end its life in India. Will somebody resurrect its IATA code “UK” like Fly91 did with “IC”?
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