Amidst the quandary of inadequate crew availability, Vistara Airlines, on Sunday, disclosed a meticulously devised plan to curtail its flight operations. This strategic maneuver aims to fortify operational resilience by slashing approximately 25-30 flights daily, constituting roughly 10 percent of the airline’s erstwhile capacity.
As per Vistara’s spokesperson, the objective behind this decision is to realign the airline’s flight operations to levels akin to those observed at the culmination of February 2024.
During the ongoing summer timetable, the full-service carrier anticipated operating over 300 flights per day, but faced substantial disruptions earlier in the week due to numerous pilots reporting indisposed, culminating in flight cancellations. “We are meticulously downsizing our operations by about 25-30 flights per day, equivalent to approximately 10 percent of our previous capacity. This will regress us to the flight operations extent observed at the conclusion of February 2024, fostering much-needed resilience and leeway in the rosters,” Vistara asserted in a statement on Sunday.
The airline specifies that these cancellations predominantly affect the domestic network and are executed well in advance to mitigate customer inconvenience. “All impacted passengers have already been accommodated on alternative flights, as applicable,” the statement affirmed, further noting an enhancement in on-time performance. Vistara anticipates achieving stable operations in April and beyond.
Vistara’s cancellations are poised to further diminish overall available capacity amidst burgeoning domestic air passenger traffic, potentially triggering fare hikes on certain routes due to reduced service frequency. Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan highlighted a stretched roster as the primary cause for flight disruptions during a statement on Friday. Additionally, some factions of pilots have voiced concerns regarding the impending contract revisions preceding the airline’s proposed merger with Air India.
With approximately 1,000 pilots among its workforce of about 6,500 individuals, Vistara announced on April 1 a reduction in operations attributed to crew unavailability and other operational exigencies. Subsequently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed the airline to furnish a daily report concerning flight cancellations and delays.
In a PTI interview on Friday, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan articulated the airline’s intent to reassess the prevailing rostering system following consultations with pilots, reiterating the absence of any unusual attrition spikes. Meanwhile, the DGCA issued a show cause notice to Vistara over alleged pilot training norm violations.
These infractions transpired during conversion training, where pilots trained on narrow-body planes are prepared to operate wide-body aircraft. Sources revealed that the violations pertained to Zero Flight Time Training (ZFTT) norms. Generally, ZFTT entails type rating training conducted in a simulator. However, it’s alleged that there was an extended gap beyond the permissible limit for conducting training subsequent to the skill test.
In light of the DGCA’s concerns, conversion training for over 10 pilots transitioning from A320 family planes to Boeing 787 aircraft has been suspended. “We have received a show cause notice from the DGCA and are engaged in discussions with the regulatory body on the matter,” a spokesperson for the airline disclosed in a statement, responding
