India’s Vistara, on Friday (25) announced a daily (except Wednesdays) direct service to Colombo, Sri Lanka from 25 November 2019 onwards, making it the fourth international destination in its fast-expanding network. The airline will fly its Airbus A320neo aircraft with three-class cabin configuration between Mumbai and Colombo, which makes Vistara the first airline to offer the choice of premium economy class for travel on the India-Sri Lanka route, in addition to economy and business class, the airline said in a press release. Tata SIA Airlines Ltd., known by brand name Vistara, is a full-service carrier and a joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA). Tata Sons holds the majority stake of 51% in the company with SIA holding the remaining 49%. It is India’s highest rated airline on Skytrax and TripAdvisor and the winner of several “best airline” awards. It was called India’s only five-star airline in the 2020 APEX Official Airline Ratings™. Vistara Chief Executive Officer Leslie Thng said: “Sri Lanka is a very promising destination for Vistara, given the growth it continues to record in trade and tourism, especially as India is the largest tourism source market for Sri Lanka. As we bring India’s only five-star airline on the India-Sri Lanka route, we are confident that our entry will further fuel the travel appetite among people.” Bookings for flights to and from Colombo have been opened on all channels, including Vistara’s website www.airvistara.com, Vistara’s iOS and Android mobile apps, and through online travel agencies (OTAs) and travel agents. Customers can also take convenient one-stop connections to/from other cities beyond Mumbai. Vistara commenced its commercial operations on 9 January 2015 and now connects 34 destinations, operates more than 200 flights a day with a fleet of 23 Airbus A320 and nine Boeing 737-800NG aircrafts, and has flown more than 18 million customers since starting operations. In its expansion drive across India, Vistara has announced plans to induct as many as 56 narrow-body and wide-body aircrafts over the next four years, including 50 aircrafts from the Airbus A320neo family for domestic and international short and medium-haul operations and six Boeing B787-9 aircrafts for long-haul international operations.