Vistara reports first-ever profit in October-December quarter

Vistara, a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, on Monday reported its first-ever quarterly profit (excluding unrealised foreign currency loss and non-operating income) for the quarter that ended December 2022.

The airline crossed the $1 billion revenue mark and remained EBITDA positive in the current fiscal year and reported break-even for the first time in the quarter. Vistara on Monday said that it delivered remarkable results for the first time since its inception in 2013.

The airline achieved its highest ever domestic market share of 10.4 per cent in July 2022 and maintained its position as the second largest domestic airline in India since then, flying more than 11 million passengers in the calendar year 2022. In December 2022, the airline carried 11.7 lakh passengers, thus having a market share of 9.2 per cent.

Vistara also registered a 11 per cent year-on-year growth in the member base for its frequent flyer program, Club Vistara.

Vistara grew its international network by over 180 per cent in 2022, by adding seven additional routes including three new destinations (Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Muscat).

It also grew its domestic network by over 50 per cent, by adding six new routes including two new destinations (Coimbatore and Jaipur).

For the quarter ended December 2022, the airline grew its capacity by 37 per cent and passengers by 47 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The airline said it recorded the second highest on-time performance at four key metros and over 85 per cent domestic load factor for most of the year in 2022.

This year, Vistara became the only Indian airline to be featured in Skytrax's list of World's Top 20 airlines.

The airline currently has over 5,000 employees and operates close to 8,500 flights per month.

Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said: "With significant network and fleet expansion and sustained growth over the last few months, 2022 has been a phenomenal year for Vistara in terms of our operational and financial performance. Each member of the Vistara family is incredibly proud of our collective achievements in an extremely challenging business environment that included the third wave of pandemic and escalating costs. We are now aiming for higher goals as we enter the next phase of our growth journey."

Vistara has augmented its operations from its hubs Delhi and Mumbai, and currently operates more than 75 and 50 daily domestic departures from the two cities, respectively.

With delivery of 10 aircraft and re-delivery of eight aircraft, the airline expanded its fleet size to 53 in 2022, said the airline.

In November 2022, the Tata group announced the merger of Vistara with Air India under a deal wherein Singapore Airlines will also acquire a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, marking a major consolidation in India’s fast-growing aviation space.

The deal, which will make Air India the country’s largest international carrier and second-largest domestic carrier, is expected to be completed by March 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.

Currently, Tata group owns a 51 per cent stake in Vistara and the rest is with Singapore Airlines (SIA).

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it would be investing Rs 2,058.5 crore in Air India as part of the merger transaction. This would give SIA a 25.1 per cent stake in an enlarged Air India group with a significant presence in all key market segments, it added.

With inputs from agencies