As India reached the halfway point in the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, some states and rail and airline operators were considering measures to relax restrictions in phases from April 15. Simultaneously, the Centre has drawn up a cluster containment strategy to contain the coronavirus pandemic within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas.
When the move was first thought of it was at the behest of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India. Only Vistara and AirAsia were opposing it as they were doing the poaching, says Anjuli Bhargava.
'Somehow, I don't see the Modi government shutting down Air India.' 'So, Mallya may prove to be luckier than the government; at least his financial clock has stopped ticking,' says T N Ninan.
Discounted tickets of Jet Airways are available for sale till Thursday
Vistara is likely to offer 148 seats in a three-class configuration in its Airbus A320s, industry sources said.
The airline, which operates 24 daily flights including linking Delhi to Port Blair and Bhubaneshwar, would, however, provide free drinking water to all passengers.
Tickets will be sold only through Air India website from August 27-31 and for travel during August 27-September 30.