Vistara joins global airline lobby IATA ahead of launching international operations

Mumbai: Tata-SIA’s joint venture airline, Vistara, has joined the 280-member strong global airlines body IATA, ahead of plans to launch international operations by the second-half of the year. Up until now, only two Indian carriers - Air India and Jet Airways - were part of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), whose members represent as much as 83 percent of the total air traffic across 120 countries. [caption id=“attachment_4131231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Membership will enable Vistara to collaborate with other international member airlines for so-called codeshare and interline agreements, and provide customers with seamless travel through an extended global network, the airline said in a release. “We’re extremely proud to join the international community of IATA members. This membership couldn’t have come at a better time as we gear up to launch our international operations soon,” Vistara chief executive officer Leslie Thng said in a release. “We welcome Vistara as IATA"s newest member airline. India is a key aviation market " it is expected to become the third largest aviation market by 2024. We look forward to working with Vistara in shaping IATA’s priorities for India and the global aviation industry,” IATA regional vice president for Asia Pacific Conrad Clifford said. Delhi-headquartered Vistara operates over 730 flights a week to 22 destinations, with a fleet of 20 Airbus A320 aircraft. The full service carrier had in September last year completed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a pre-requisite for an IATA membership.