Vistara CEO says 'worst is behind us'; operations have stabilised, now focusing on summer operational planning

After experiencing substantial flight interruptions recently, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan informed airline employees on Thursday, April 11, that the "worst is behind us" and that operations have already stabilised.

He also stated that the new fiscal year has begun on a difficult note, with the airline experiencing severe operational interruption from March 31 to April 2.

Pilot issues have led the Tata Group airline to temporarily reduce capacity by 10 per cent, or 25-30 flights per day. While admitting that things may have been better prepared, Kannan described the incident as a "learning experience".

"The anxiety and frustration felt by our customers was matched in even measure to the pain that all of us felt in seeing our much-loved brand drawing negative commentary from various quarters... I assure you that the worst is behind us, and we have already stabilised our operations, with our on-time performance (OTP) increasing to 89 per cent on 9 April 2024 (second highest among all Indian airlines)," he said in a message to the staff.

The full-service carrier has around 6,500 people, including about 1,000 pilots.

In the wake of the disruptions, the top management of the airline had held a virtual meeting with the pilots. One of the reasons for the disruptions was also that some section of pilots reporting sick to protest against the new contract that will result in pay revision.

According to Kannan, there were a multitude of reasons for the disruptions, including ATC delays, bird hits, and maintenance activities early last month.

"We were stretched in our pilot rosters and there was not enough resilience to withstand injects that we would otherwise have weathered. We could and should have planned better, and this has been a learning experience for us which we will review thoroughly," the Vistara chief said.

Most of the cancellations were in the domestic network and the carrier is working on plans for May and beyond.

"While the events of the last week may seem like a setback, the hallmark of our organisation has always been that we have bounced back from tough situations ' and emerged stronger.

"... I trust each of you to continue to put in all efforts to ensure that we do not let our brand, and our customer, down," Kannan said.

As we emerge from this difficult phase, he said it is this commitment to being a customer-oriented airline that will help it bounce back stronger.

The airline has also reached out to customers impacted by the cancellations and delays over the affected period.

"We have provided the necessary compensation as per the regulatory mandate, and have also offered additional service recovery vouchers for passengers whose flights were significantly delayed," the Vistara chief said.

The carrier has 70 aircraft in its fleet and is to operate more than 300 flights daily in the ongoing summer schedule.

"Dealing with disappointed customers is never easy but amidst all the chaos, we have received feedback on how some of you went beyond the call of duty to assist our customers to the extent possible," Kannan said and expressed gratitude to the pilots for cooperating and stepping up to support operations.

Vistara's summer schedule

Vistara is now focusing on operational planning for May and beyond. In a newsletter to employees, Kannan acknowledged the challenging start to the new financial year.

A significant number of Vistara pilots had taken sick leave following the announcement of new salary rules, coinciding with the merger with Air India. The pilot shortage issue stemmed from pay cuts implemented after new flying hours regulations came into effect recently. Over 200 Vistara flights were affected--either cancelled or delayed--over the past two weeks.

He thanked all the staff who faced a daunting and escalating situation but still worked with utmost professionalism. "Dealing with disappointed customers is never easy but amidst all the chaos, we have received feedback on how some of you went beyond the call of duty to assist our customers to the extent possible."

With agency inputs