Vistara partners JAL for first foray into Japan

India’s Vistara has continued to expand its presence in international markets with the launch of two new partnerships in Japan.

The Delhi-based airline was sealed a new agreement with Japan Airlines, allowing passengers on JAL’s daily direct services between Tokyo Narita and Delhi to connect with Vistara to 11 Indian cities. And Vistara said it plans to expand the JAL partnership in future, to include combined check-in facilities, lounge access and codesharing.

And to further enhance its presence in Japan, Vistara has appointed Air System Inc. (ASI) as its new General Sales Agent (GSA) in the country. ASI will now provide Vistara with reservations, ticketing and sales services.

This marks the second international GSA for the airline, following the recent appointment of Dubai-based Sharaf Travels as its representative in the Gulf market.

Under Indian regulations, Vistara can’t currently operate international routes, so these partnerships are a way of maximising the airline’s opportunities in overseas markets.

“Japan is among the fastest growing travel markets in the world and the origin of significant business and leisure travel in India,” said Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO of Vistara. “Cities like Tokyo and Osaka account for the majority of traffic coming to India and this trend is expected to grow progressively with the strengthened cooperation between both countries. We are thrilled to have established a presence in Japan through the partnerships with Japan Airlines and ASI. With Vistara’s growing domestic network, we look forward to providing seamless connectivity for Japanese customers to and from various parts of India.”

In the coming months, Vistara plans to open a new lounge at Delhi Airport, add new aircraft and launch new domestic routes.