New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS): Full-service carrier Vistara on Saturday said that Vinod Kannan has been appointed as the airline's Chief Executive Officer, effective from January 1.

Besides, Deepak Rajawat has been elevated to take up the role of Vistara's Chief Commercial Officer.

"Kannan started his stint with Vistara as the Chief Strategy Office in June 2019 and took over as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2020 with responsibility for developing, executing, and sustaining Vistara's corporate strategy and ensuring the airline's commercial success," a statement said.

"He played a pivotal role in launching Vistara's international operations, expanding its domestic network, fleet size and driving airline's steady growth during the pandemic," it added.

Kannan has spent over two decades working with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and held several senior positions in the airline's head office in Singapore as well as overseas.

He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Furthermore, the statement said that Deepak Rajawat, the new Chief Commercial Officer, has been with Vistara since inception and held several leadership roles in Corporate Planning and finance functions.

He was the Divisional Vice President and Head of Corporate Planning with the airline until 31 December 2021.

"In his new role, he will be spearheading a wide portfolio of Vistara's strategic and commercial functions, including but not limited to pricing and revenue management, network planning, sales and distribution, partnerships and alliances, product development, in-flight services, marketing, branding and customer experience," as per the statement.

The Tata SIA Airlines known by the brand name Vistara, is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and SIA.

It commenced commercial operations on January 9, 2015. Vistara has a fleet of 51 aircraft and has flown more than 30 million customers since starting operations.