Even before take-off, Vistara eyes foreign skies

After a minor hiccup that has delayed its launch, Tata-Singapore Airlines (SIA) venture Vistara is all set to launch its full service airline on January 9, with all the regulatory approvals under its belt.
And the India's fledgling airline is already looking at foreign skies, albeit the 5/20 rule, which does not airlines with less than 20 aircraft and five years of experience to fly overseas, goes.
"We are hoping 5/20 rule will go away, the writing is on the wall. If it goes then we want to increase our world footprint," said Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO of Vistara.
The Vistara chief said the airline will offer high-end service on the Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad sectors and slowly expand to destination there is demand for it.
At a time, when the aviation sector is going through the pains of witnessing the budget carrier SpiceJet struggling to survive, how will Vistara manage to operate a full-service carrier?
Yeoh said the company's various consumer surveys have shown that there exists an untapped potential for full service airline in the domestic market. Currently, there are two other airlines which are in the same segment – Air India and Jet Airways.

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