Bhubaneswar, Oct. 1: People travelling frequently between New Delhi and here have one more flight to avail with Vistara, a joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines, starting its service from today.
The first flight from Delhi landed at Biju Patnaik International Airport at 6.35pm today. The journey started on a positive note with the flight registering over 90 per cent booking. There were 134 passengers on the flight from New Delhi today.
Usually budget and low-cost carriers have 180 seats in Airbus A320, but Vistara has limited its seats to 148 with an aim to provide more leg space to travellers, an official of the airlines said.
Those travelling by Vistara flight can avail its premium economy class segment, which has already proved a success on 10 routes the airlines is operating at present.
The return flight to Delhi was scheduled to leave Bhubaneswar at 7.15pm and reach the national capital at 9.30pm.
From October 5, the airlines will introduce a second flight that will leave New Delhi at 7.50am. The flight from here starts at 10.40am.
Vistara chief financial officer Niyant Maru said: "We have done a thorough market research before starting the air service to Bhubaneswar as it is the third most rapidly growing city in India. The state government is also inviting large-scale investment from India and abroad and many known steel makers have invested in steel plants at Kalinga Nagar and nearby areas."
Talking about more leg space and premium economy segment, the senior airlines official said: "We have already introduced mobile-based applications in Mumbai for hassle free check-in and also e-boarding pass for international travellers."
The airliner, which started its domestic operations in India on January 9, has a fleet of seven Airbuses. By the end of this fiscal, the number will increase to nine. "We are planning to have a fleet of 20 A320 by 2019," said Maru.
Airport director Sharad Kumar said: "At present, the airport has 16 scheduled flight operations. But with Vistara starting two flights in the first week and FlyEasy starting its Bangalore service from mid-October, the airport will have 20 operations on a single day. With an international flight likely to start, the city is going to be a busy airport."
