NEW DELHI: Vinod Kannan, Chief Commercial Officer at Vistara, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the airline, effective from January 1, 2022. Leslie Thng, after leading the full service carrier for more than four years, will move on to take up a senior role with Singapore Airlines.
Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. Kannan has joined the airline in June 2019 as Chief Strategy Officer and currently heads amongst others network planning, revenue anagement, marketing, customer experience and cabin service functions. He started his career with Singapore Airlines in 2001.
Prior to joining Vistara, he served as Chief Commercial Officer for Scoot, the budget airline subsidiary of the Singapore Airlines Group. He has handled global network planning and has spent 8 years running operations in Indonesia, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
“Leslie has led the airline through a significant phase, with the start of international operations and the entry into service of various aircraft including the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Vinod will lead Vistara in its next phase of growth, building on the strong foundation laid by Leslie,” said Vistara Chairman, Bhaskar Bhat.