Vistara is a joint venture of Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA), wherein Tata Sons holds 51% stake in partnership and Singapore Airlines owns 49% stake. The company is registered as TATA SIA Airlines Limited.

In 2013, two legendary brands, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, decided to fulfil a long-cherished shared dream to bring forth a distinguished flying experience to air travellers in India. With its strong historical ties with aviation, the Tata group had long wished to re-enter the aviation sector, after Tata Airlines was renamed Air India and eventually, nationalised. Both, Tata group and Singapore Airlines were also firm believers in the growth potential of the Indian aviation sector and hence tried to enter the market in the past; first, in 1994 by setting up a joint venture to start an airline in India and then in 2000, teaming up to purchase stakes in Air India. However, after the lifting of foreign investment restrictions in 2012, the partners once again sought approval for a tie-up, which it obtained in October 2013. On November 5, 2013, Vistara’s holding company, TATA SIA Airlines Limited, was incorporated.

The common goal of the joint venture is to redefine air travel in India to provide Indian travellers a seamless and personalised flying experience that blends Tata’s and SIA’s service excellence and legendary hospitality. The brand name ‘Vistara’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Vistaar’ that means ‘a limitless expanse’. The name Vistara draws inspiration from the world that Vistara inhabits, viz. the ‘limitless’ sky. The brand also draws stimulus from the image that passengers most associate with a smooth and enjoyable flight – the endless, blue horizon they see through the windows of an aircraft. As it aims to transform the flying experience of travellers in India, Vistara christens its brand tagline as ‘fly the new feeling’.

On January 9, 2015, Vistara started its operations with a maiden flight from Delhi to Mumbai. In a short span of time, Vistara has rapidly expanded its footprint, both in terms of network and service proposition. Vistara connects 50 destinations in and outside of India, and operates over 300 flights a day with a fleet of 70 aircraft including 53 Airbus A320neo, 10 Airbus A321neo and 7 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Vistara has already flown more than 65 million happy customers since starting operations.

Vistara’s parentage is reflected in the company’s management with expertise drawn from Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons. The joint venture has a four-member Board, comprising its Chairman, Mr. Bhaskar Bhat, Ex-MD of Titan Company Ltd; Director-on-Board, Mr. Lee Lik Hsin, Executive VP (Commercial) Singapore Airlines, Mr. S. Padmanabhan, Ex-Executive Chairman of Tata Business Excellence Group & Group Chief Ethics Officer, Tata Sons and Ms Alice Geevarghese Vaidyan, former Chairman and Managing Director of General Insurance Corporation of India and the First Lady CMD in the Indian Insurance. The company’s leadership team includes:

Mr. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Niyant Maru, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Vinod Bhat, Chief Information Officer & Chief Ethics Counsellor

Capt. Hamish Maxwell, Senior Vice President – Flight Operations

Ms. Deepa Chadha, Senior Vice President – Human Resources & Corporate Affairs    

Mr. Manoj Kumar Panda, Divisional Vice President – Engineering