Indian aviation & the Vistara ‘Edge’

India | More young, more middle-class than ever

Indian Aviation market | Vision 2020

• India is the ninth-largest civil aviation market in the world, with a market size of around US$ 16
billion

• India is among the five fastest-growing aviation markets globally with 275 million new passengers

• India’s civil aviation industry is on a high-growth trajectory. India aims to become the third-
largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030

• Untapped market with huge growth opportunities, considering that air transport is still expensive
for majority of the country’s population, of which nearly 40 per cent is the upwardly mobile
middle class

• Expansion largely driven by factors such as low-cost carriers (LCCs), modern airports, Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic airlines, advanced information technology (IT) interventions
and growing emphasis on regional connectivity
Indian Aviation market | Passenger traffic growth

• Healthy Growth of Passenger Traffic - 17.62% over FY15, total passenger traffic stood at a 223.6
million in FY16 against 190.1 million in FY15

• Strong growth since the new millennium, especially with rising incomes and low-cost aviation;
during FY06-16, passenger traffic grew at a CAGR of 11.8 per cent in the country

• India’s domestic market to surpass 100 million passengers in FY2017 compared to 81 million
passengers in 2015. Likely to overtake Japan to become the world’s 3 rd largest domestic market
behind the USA and China
Latest stats | Domestic (Jan to Mar ‘17)

• Domestic passenger traffic of 272.79 lakh as against 230.03 lakh during the corresponding period
of previous year; registering a growth of 18.59% - DGCA

• Current market players

 3 real full-service airlines – Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara
 Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) – Indigo, Spicejet, JetLite
 Budget Passenger Carriers – GoAir, Air Asia

• In terms of PLF, SpiceJet at 91.4% was followed by AirAsia India (87.8%) and GoAir (84.8%)

• IndiGo led the industry with an OTP of 88% at four major airports of Bangalore, New Delhi,
Hyderabad and Mumbai; followed by SpiceJet (85.7%), Vistara (85.1%), GoAir (81.8%), Jet
Airways and JetLite (80.7%), and Air India (79.7%)

• By overall Market share - IndiGo led the industry with 39.9%, followed by Jet Airways (15.4%),
SpiceJet (13.2%), Air India (13%) and GoAir (8.9%)

• Vistara reported a market share of 3.2%, followed by AirAsia India (3.1%), JetLite (2.5%), Trujet
(0.5%) and Air Carnival (0.1%)
Vistara | Limitless possibilities…

• Vistara is drawn from the Sanskrit word Vistaar, which means limitless expanse

• Ingrained in Vistara is the word tara, a star, which is depicted in Vistara’s logo. An eight-pointed
star in the centre, the dynamically intertwined forms of the Vistara Star create a continuous
shape that represents the seamless experience - the vistara promise of #FlyTheNewFeeling

• Vision - to make people look forward to flying once again. Bringing the joy back in air travel

• Vistara's philosophy – deliver seamless service, innovation and personalization with intuitive
thoughfulness

• 9th Jan 2015 | Commenced commercial operations with an aim to set new standards in the
aviation industry in India

• Dec ‘16 | Setting new records - over 300,000 passengers, 85% load factor and 3.2% of India’s
domestic market

• Jan to Apr ‘17 | Flown 1.15 Mn passengers, total of 19 destinations, weekly flight frequency of
551 with a total of 13 Airbus A320 aircrafts and an average PLF of 82%
The Vistara Edge | Addressing the unfulfilled need

• Vistara created a demand where there was none - addressed the pain points and latent needs of
air-travellers in India

• Indian travellers are subject to three types of emotional vulnerability while flying:
 Feeling of dependence and a sense of loss of control
 Feeling of anxiety when they enter an airport – a zone of ambiguity
 Feeling at a loss of their individuality

• Vistara aims to change this by making them feel less dependent and anxious, and treat their
customers as individuals. This is a gap that Vistara will fill making travel not a transactional, but a
personalised experience
The Vistara Edge | Pioneering spirit

• Three-class configuration - Vistara is the first full-service carrier in India to introduce a so-called
‘premium economy class’

• One of the first airlines to introduce the concept of auto check-in. An automated facility that
checks-in a passenger within four hours prior to the departure

• The in-flight entertainment system - IntelliCabin™ is another pioneering concept by Vistara in

Indian aviation
The Vistara Edge | Differentiated experience
• Pricing | A pricing strategy determined by the value proposition it offers that provides the value for
money the customers seek

• Frequent Flyer Programme | Club Vistara, a unique value-based programme, where loyalty points are
accrued based on actual spending on fares rather than miles travelled

• Product | Three-class configuration – introducing so-called premium economy class apart from
Business & Economy
• More comfortable seating - 42-inch seat pitch, highest among full-service carriers on local routes against
competition that offers 40-inch seats
• Number of seats is up to 20% less compared to those on many single-aisle aircraft operators for the greater
comfort and personal space. Large seat pitch and, therefore, more legroom. Personal storage space on the
side of the seat for small items such as glasses, gadgets or a book
• The premium economy cabin is aimed at the traveller who relishes the additional space and amenities to
work or relax without the expense of a business-class ticket

• Services | Ease of check-in, specially curated in-flight dining & first of its kind in-flight entertainment
system
• Auto check-in for the passenger who has not checked within four hours prior to the departure
• Interesting and novel in-flight meals by TajSATS chefs, injecting fusion into the menu – marrying local cuisine
with a contemporary global fare
• An in-flight entertainment system - IntelliCabin™ in partnership with BAE Systems
The next phase of communication
Suggestions | Putting in my two cents
The New approach | ‘Emotionalising’ to ‘Rationalising’

• Challenges | Increasing the PLF; Optimum aircraft utilisation; High % of Business Class seats

• Communication design | To shift the communication from #FlyTheNewFeeling to

#ExperienceTheEdge

• Core TG | Corporate Flyers & Frequent Flyers who have already flown as well as reaching out to
those who have still not experienced the joy of flying Vistara

• Objective | To make CV members fly once again with Vistara and give reasons to non-flyers to
experience flying Vistara
#ExperienceTheEdge | Communication design & packaging

• Communication design
Highlight the rational features of the experience offering like benefits, differentiators in
product & services while playing on the aspect of ‘Thought Leadership’

• Communication packaging
Move away from single long form storytelling like a traditional TVC, Print ad
Create a series of short form or snackable content pieces
The creative design should provide for use across all media
Create the content formats in a way that can be used across platforms TV, Web, Mobile
#ExperienceTheEdge | Bring the experience to the consumer

• How?
Create roadshows / experience zones, bringing the quintessential Vistara experience to the
potential consumers

• Where?
Tap the lowest hanging fruit first – The flyers at the airports flying through other airlines or on
sectors not operated by Vistara
Next captive audience – The Corporate parks and Business districts eg: Cybercity in Gurgaon or
BKC in Mumbai

• Business integration
Opportunity for data collection to reach out to these potential flyers later through a CRM
program or remarketing
Offering a temporary CV membership that loads on this flyer’s first flight with Vistara will not
only create a recall but also give a reason to flying with Vistara. This will help increase the CV
membership base
#ExperienceTheEdge | The returning flyer

Club Vistara has already achieved a status of Fastest rewarding loyalty program in Indian aviation
industry. There are some ideas to use elevate the CV member’s experience and make them fly once
more.

• Give reasons for repeat bookings and sharing with friends: Urge them by way of gamifying their
journey to the next reward

• New salesforce : These loyal customers / members are also your greatest brand advocates.
Reward them for product and experience reviews. Reward them extra for higher than average
single booking value, thus establishing credibility and increasing booking size

• Play on the idea of the “Local Ladder Effect” : Let your CV members see where they stand in your
tiered programme. Supercharge a tier’s effectiveness by showing what percentage of your
members are in each level. Let it play upon your customers’ desire to be the part of an exclusive
club
#ExperienceTheEdge | HR community – primary TG

Vistara’s core TG is the corporate & frequent flyers. While these two segments may overlap, the
primary TG specially for the Corporate flyers is the HR community. Hence, a refreshed focus is
needed to sensitize this community to increase our number of both business and premium economy
flyers for optimum aircraft utilization. Some ideas:

• Organize or partner CHRO round tables highlighting ‘Vistara Business’ or ‘Vistara Premium
economy’ depending on the audiences attending

• Go B2B : Identify the HR leaders in potential industry segments (eg.: IT) and share relevant
content pieces like whitepapers, Newsletters etc.

• Position ‘Vistara Business & Premium Economy’ as an aspirational non-monetary reward for their
employees around performance. Examples:
• On business target achievements – all eligible employees get to fly Vistara for the next 6
months. This also serves as an opportunity for non-flyers to experience our products & services
• Vistara flights as a part of the promotion benefits, perks
#ExperienceTheEdge | Personalised targeting

• How?
Data is the solution to reach out to each segment of your consumers – Corporate, Frequent
flyers or CV Members depending on the Tier level
Leverage the available first party data from your CRM system, Website visitors or Social
network to send more personalized communication
Alternatively, leverage the data from our alliance partners like banks, OTAs

• Where?
Directly to their inboxes
Through push notifications on Mobile
Through ‘programmatic ads’ across devices they use
On social networks
Hope you like the thoughts | Thankyou!