Tata Sons, S'pore Airlines to invest Rs 250 cr more in Vistara

Moneycontrol BureauWith aviation ministry easing the 5/25 norms, the year-old airline Vistara Airlines has its expansion plans in place. Owners Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines are reportedly planning to infuse Rs 250 crore via rights issue into the airlines to aid these plans, says a Business Standard piece. Last month, Rs 150 crore has been invested into the company. The decision to infuse funds into the airlines was recently approved by the airline’s board earlier this month, according to a filing by the company. Earlier this year, the aviation ministry had done away with 5/25 norm under which the airlines needed to have five years of domestic flying and atleast 20 aircraft before it could launch international operations. With these funds, the airline will work on improving its fleet count as well as lay groundwork for overseas operations. The 11-fleet airline has plans to add 20 aircraft by 2018.At present, Vistara has 11 Airbus A320 and has a 2.4 percent market share. In the current month, it is expected to add two more aircrafts to its fleet. Tata Sons enjoys a 51 percent stake in the company while the rest 49 percent is owned by Singapore Airlines.