Buoyed by a record number of passengers, Vistara has claimed to have generated net profits during the December quarter at the operating level making it a first in its 9 years of operation. However, this was excluding foreign currency loss and non-operating income. Overall, Vistara remained in the red during the December quarter taking.
Without disclosing the absolute profit numbers, Vistara added that its revenues during the April-December period surpassed $1 billion. At 3.3 million, Vistara carried the highest number of passengers in a quarter in its lifetime.
This comes on the back of record losses of `2,031 crore reported by the full-service carrier during FY22, which was 35% higher than FY21. It, however, grabbed the position of second largest airline by market share for FY22 behind IndiGo. It operates close to 8,500 flights per month.
The airline, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, is an unlisted entity that is in the process of getting merged into Tata group-owned Air India.
During 2022, Vistara grew its international network by over 180%, by adding seven additional routes including three new destinations. It also grew its domestic network by over 50%, by adding six new routes including two new destinations.
The airline recorded second highest on-time performance at four key metros and over 85% domestic load factor for most of the year in 2022.
Vinod Kannan, chief executive officer, Vistara, 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.”
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.