Vistara’s New Boeing 787 Means More Flights To Paris & Frankfurt

Just days after receiving a leased Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to build up capacity across its network, Vistara announced it will be ramping up its European frequencies as of November 10.

Full steam ahead

Plans were put on hold last month following a brief delay during the refurbishment and maintenance of its leased AerCap 787. Now an official member of Vistara’s fleet, the jet is ready for service, offering 272 seats across three classes, comprised of 30 business, 36 premium economy, and 226 economy class seats.

Despite being leased, the Boeing 787-9 is in for the long-haul, continuing to offer the usual Vistara charm and emphasis on the passenger experience. Features include fully-flat business class seats with direct aisle access and a cutting-edge Panasonic High Definition in-flight entertainment system.

Photo: Vistara

With the green light to finally launch flights, Vistara has announced it will increase capacity on its Frankfurt and Paris routes effective immediately.

Flights between Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and Paris Charles De Gaulle will take off five times a week, with frequencies on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Vistara’s Delhi-Frankfurt route will run six times a week, doubling its current capacity, with flights offered on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The carrier advises that the arrival and departure times are currently a guide, subject to approval by Frankfurt Airport.

787 woes

Vistara has faced some notable setbacks with its 787 orders, owed to a combination of production issues with the Dreamliner program and the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the carrier with just two of the type delivered. The airline still has an outstanding order for four aircraft, with deliveries expected to resume in 12-18 months, according to The Times of India.

In an interview with Simple Flying earlier this month, Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer Deepak Rajawat explained the airline’s decision to lease out the third aircraft, though noted that the carrier intends to keep the jet on in the long term, hinting at potential further international expansion for the airline.

“Not a short period. It’s not spending two to three months with us. It is at least going to be there with us for two to three years. So that’s how we went to use the aircraft,” explained Rajawat.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Vistara has recently added a range of new routes to its rapidly growing network map, including daily flights between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi and a twice-weekly Mumbai-Dhaka service, launched in October and November, respectively. Since 2019, the carrier has added 25% more flights, increasing its international offerings from five to 11. While financial losses slowly crept up during the first half of 2022, the carrier has remained positive, citing increased demand and its dense domestic network.

“We have seen a good rebound, at least from a revenue perspective,” Chief Executive Vindod Kannan told The Times of India.

“We have been doing very positive performance for the last four to five months and we hope to continue in the winter months.”

Will you be traveling with Vistara to Paris or Frankfurt? What other destinations would you like to see the airline cover? Let us know in the comments.

Source: The Times of India