Vistara eyes long-haul destinations with new Boeing Dreamliners

NEW DELHI:  Vistara, one of the newest airlines in India, took the delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, on Friday. The new aircraft is the first of six that Vistara has purchased from Boeing.

The second Vistara Dreamliner is currently on the production line and will be delivered soon.
Vistara’s first Boeing 787-9 aircraft will fly customers within India for a limited period of time from March 2020 before being deployed on long-haul international operations. It is being reported that the company has plans to fly as far as Europe, Japan and Australia.  

“This aircraft delivery marks a new phase of growth for Vistara and unlocks our potential to become one of world’s best airlines. We will use the Boeing 787 Dreamliners to soon begin flying long-haul routes, providing authentic Indian hospitality to customers in a modern, global setting,” said Leslie Thng, Vistara’s chief executive officer.

At present, national carrier Air India is the only Indian airline to fly to long-haul international destinations. Jet Airways, which used to compete with Air India on these routes, shut down its operations last year.

According to Vistara, a joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, its Dreamliner comes with 299 seats in three-class cabin configurations, giving customers a choice of Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins. Vistara’s Dreamliners feature lie-flat business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, and a separate Premium Economy cabin will offer seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

 Vistara’s Dreamliners also come with a host of other features including the much talked about in-flight connectivity services. “The services include in-seat TVs with High Definition (HD) display in all three cabins, offering a cutting-edge, in-flight entertainment system powered by Panasonic, as well as in-flight Wi-Fi internet connectivity onboard long-haul international flights. The latter, thus makes Vistara India’s first airline to offer the service,” Vistara said.

 Separately, Japan Airlines and Vistara expanded their codeshare partnership, providing customers additional options when travelling between Japan and India.