Redefining air travel comfort: Premium economy class here to stay, more Indians are opting for it, says Vistara’s Deepak Rajawat

As of now, three aircraft models operated by Vistara, Airbus 320 neo, Airbus 321 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, offer passengers seats in premium economy class.

Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer Deepak Rajawat in a chat with PTI talked about the surge in passengers opting for premium economy class in India, adding that the premium economy is here to stay.

Merger-bound Vistara was the first to introduce premium economy class in India. The airline, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, operates about 320 flights per day on both international and domestic routes, having a fleet of 67 planes. More aircraft will be inducted in its fleet by April.

As of now, three aircraft models operated by Vistara, Airbus 320 neo, Airbus 321 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, offer passengers seats in premium economy class.

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What did Rajawat say?

Deepak Rajawat told PTI that the airline has seen a rise in the number of passengers opting for premium economy class. “There is an uptick year-over-year,” he added.

He further said that the premium economy class is a “differentiation” that Vistara has created in the country. “The first airline to bring it in. It does give a lot of benefits compared to what the economy class (gives)… it gives a value to the customer and that is why we have seen a turn around in the premium economy in the last two to three years,” Rajawat mentioned.

Indian aviation sector

The Indian aviation sector is the fastest growing market globally and has seen a strong rebound in domestic air passenger traffic following COVID-19.

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In the first nine months of the financial year 2024, India saw its domestic air passenger traffic rise 16% to over 11.45 crore in comparison to the year-ago period, as per an ICRA report. This figure was higher than what was seen in pre-Covid period (April-December 2019 period) at more than 10.86 crore.

In the midst of rising domestic air passenger traffic, Vistara’s domestic market share stood at 9.4 per cent, official figures showed.When asked about concerns in certain quarters about rising airfares Rajawat said that the airline tries to strike a balance between supply and demand.

(With PTI inputs)