Muscat: Vistara, a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, has started operating non-stop daily flights between Mumbai and Muscat.
UK 0233 departs daily from Mumbai at 8 pm and arrives in Muscat at 10 pm.
The return flight, UK 0234, leaves Muscat at 10.55 pm and arrives in Mumbai the following day at 3.10 am.
Vistara said that it is now the only carrier to offer Premium Economy class on the route, in addition to business and economy seats.
The capital of Oman is the carrier’s fourth destination in the Middle East.
Muscat is the third Middle East destination that Vistara has added to its network in the last four months.
This year, Vistara launched services to Jeddah and Abu Dhabi in August and October, respectively. It already operates daily flights between Dubai and Mumbai.
“The launch of operations to Muscat is in line with our goal to steadily enhance our footprint in the Middle East. The firm bilateral relationship and robust cultural and economic ties between India and states in the Gulf region have given great impetus to our growth plans,” said Vinod Kannan, chief executive officer at Vistara.
The airline has a fleet of 54 aircraft, including 40 Airbus A320S, six Airbus A321neo, five Boeing 737-800NG, and three Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Since its inception in 2015, it has reportedly flown over 40 million customers.
Recently, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Tata Sons announced that they have agreed to merge Air India and Vistara, with SIA obtaining a 25.1 percent stake in the merged entity with an investment of US$250 million in Air India as part of the deal.
SIA and Tata have agreed to participate in additional capital injections in the coming two years, if required, to fund the growth and operations of the enlarged Air India. SIA said that it could spend up to US$615 million, payable only after the completion of the merger.
