Dhaka : Dhaka is one of the most strategically important destinations for the Indian full-service airline Vistara. Even amid the pandemic, when the carrier was operating only three flights on Dhaka-Delhi route due to restrictions in place, it witnessed favourable load factors.

Morgan Dsouza, Manager-Dhaka, Vistara said this while talking to The Bangladesh Monitor at his office in the capital recently.

Currently, Vistara is operating daily flights on Dhaka-Delhi route with encouraging load factors, mentioned Morgan.

In the coming holiday season, from October to December, the Manager of the airline in Dhaka foresees a further uptick in demand.

"We are looking to promote our front cabins further. Vistara is the first airline in Southeast Asia that offers fully flat beds in Business Class," said Morgan.

Morgan Dsouza , Manager-Dhaka, Vistara

Moreover, Vistara is the only Indian airline offering a Premium Economy Class on the route.

These two unique products of Vistara make the airline stand out from other competitors.

Thirdly, on Dhaka-Delhi route, the airline is the only Indian full-service carrier.

Morgan mentioned the airline is operating brand new 188-seater A321 aircraft to Dhaka with three class configuration - Business, Premium Economy and Economy.

Currently, majority of Vistara's business from Bangladesh comes from the passengers it flies to onward domestic destinations like Mumbai, Sri Nagar and others across India, claimed Morgan.

"Delhi and Mumbai are two of Vistara's main hubs with maximum departures taking place. Hence, Vistara currently has 90 flights to and from Delhi and 55 flights to and from Mumbai in its global network, connecting to all parts of India," Morgan highlighted.

Since there is an ever-rising demand of travel between Bangladesh and India, the airline is planning to capture more market by aiming to increase flights and expand the network further, noted Morgan.

Morgan also mentioned, another key market Vistara is currently focusing on is connecting passengers to international routes in the airline's network.

There is a growing demand of passengers travelling from Bangladesh to onward destinations like London, Paris and Frankfurt. These routes are resulting in good cargo business opportunities too, shared Morgan.

Therefore, Vistara maintains great connectivity on these routes with daily seven flights to London. Also, with the third Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner joining the fleet soon, the airline is planning to increase frequencies to Paris from two weekly to five weekly and will be operating six weekly flights to Frankfurt, up from the current three weekly flights starting from October 30, 2022.

In terms of fleet expansion, Morgan expressed, the airline is on its course to take the fleet size to 70 by the end of 2023.

"Vistara's currently has 55 aircraft in its fleet and has flown over 35 million passengers so far," shared Morgan.

Additionally, the airline recently launched services between Mumbai and Jeddah. Vistara has also announced the addition of Abu Dhabi to its international network starting October 1, 2022.

Once the Third Terminal of Dhaka Airport opens, Vistara aims to get more slots to increase frequencies to Dhaka.

"Departing Dhaka at 10:30 am and reaching Delhi at 12:30 pm local time, a passenger can travel to any part of India within the next 3-5 hours," he assured.

Lastly, the Manager shared his foresight of the outbound travel from Dhaka to surge 3-5 times in the future. For further growth of inbound travel, he stressed to promote Bangladesh's tourism more.

It may be mentioned here, Vistara has been recognised with the Best Airline in India and Southern Asia, Best Airline Staff in India and Southern Asia, and Best Cabin Crew in India and Southern Asia at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2021.

The airline has also been conferred with Asia's Third Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2022 by ch-aviation and recently bagged the Best Overall Airline Award in Central/Southern Asia at the Regional Passenger Choice Awards 2022 by APEX.

Morgan Dsouza joined Vistara in July 2019 and came to Bangladesh as the Manager-Dhaka on July 17, 2022.