Vistara, the airline joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, started selling tickets Thursday.
The airline will start flights on January 9 on the Delhi-Mumbai route and follow it up with flights in the Delhi-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Ahmedabad sectors.
Vistara's lowest fares—on a 30-day advance purchase—on the Delhi-Mumbai route is Rs 5,500, that on Delhi-Ahmedabad is Rs 4,900 while Mumbai-Ahmedabad is Rs 3,800, said an executive of a Travel portal.
The airline is also introducing a frequent flyer programme in which points will be earned on money spent on tickets, instead of miles travelled as is the case with most loyalty programmes, the airline said in a late night release.
Vistara's Ahmedabad flights will be launched days before the Vibrant Gujarat festival, the biennial investors' summit to be held between January 11--13.
The full-service carrier, which got its air operator permit or AOP on December 16, is expected to start flights within a month on the Mumbai-Delhi route with two Airbus A320 planes, with a third set to join the fleet.
With SpiceJet floundering, this would be a good time for Vistara to start operations as the cancellation of flights by the stricken Kalanithi Maran-owned carrier, has led to fares surging.
This start of operations comes shortly after budget carrier AirAsia India, in which the Tatas also hold a stake, began flights in June. Both carriers mark the realisation of a long-held dream of Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata to get into the airlines. The Tatas started the country's first airline in 1932 with JRD Tata piloting a De Havilland Puss Moth from Karachi to Bombay, now Mumbai. The Tata-owned Air India was nationalised in 1953.
Vistara plans to add 20 aircraft during the first five years of operations. This could change if the government goes ahead and implements proposals to relax the five-year, 20-aircraft minimum flying eligibility norm for international flights.
At the time it unveiled the name, the company said that the name Vistara is derived from Sanskrit "and draws inspiration from the brand's domain - the limitless sky".
In a statement on Monday, Vistara said is working on inter-line sales agreements and other partnerships with a few major international airlines.
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