Ahead of merger with AI, Vistara sees its first profitable quarter in Oct-Dec 2022; revenue crosses $1 billion

NEW DELHI: Vistara, which started flying in January 2015, has finally reported its first profitable quarter in the October-December 2022 period and revenue for this fiscal have already crossed the $1 billion mark. The turnaround comes ahead of Vistara’s impending merger with Air India in the next 14 months thanks to the rebound in air travel seen this winter and the leadership provided by the high-flying airline’s down-to-earth CEO Vinod Kannan, an industry veteran. All eyes are now on what role Kannan gets in the merged AI-Vistara entity. In calendar year 2022, full service Vistara was the second largest airline with about 10% domestic market share — next to IndiGo’s massive 56% share.
A joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, Vistara’s first ever quarterly net profit this Q3 is excluding unrealised foreign currency loss and non-operating income. The airline crossed the $1 billion revenue mark and remained EBITDA positive in the current fiscal year and reported break even for the first time in the quarter ended December 2022.
CEO Vinod Kannan said: “With significant network and fleet expansion and sustained growth over the last few months, 2022 has been a phenomenal year for Vistara, in terms of our operational and financial performance. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their consistent support and affection that make us stronger each day and inspire us to work even harder to delight them. Each member of the Vistara family is incredibly proud of our collective achievements in an extremely challenging business environment that included the 3rd wave of pandemic and escalating costs. We are now aiming for higher goals as we enter the next phase of our growth journey.”
Vistara grew its international network by over 180% in 2022, by adding seven additional routes including three new destinations (Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Muscat). It also grew its domestic network by over 50%, by adding six new routes including two new destinations (Coimbatore and Jaipur). For the quarter ended December 2022, the airline grew its capacity by 37% and passengers by 47% compared to the same period last year.
The airline currently has over 5,000 employees and operates close to 8,500 flights per month. Vistara has augmented its operations from its hubs – Delhi and Mumbai, and currently operates more than 75 and 50 daily domestic departures from the two cities, respectively. With delivery of 10 aircraft and re-delivery of eight aircraft, the airline expanded its fleet size to 53 in 2022.