Vistara gets 20 planes in fleet, eligible to fly abroad now

NEW DELHI: Vistara, the full service JV of Tata Sons and

Singapore Airlines

, is now eligible to start overseas flights after getting its 20th aircraft on Wednesday. The Modi government’s relaxed norms for Indian carriers to fly abroad stipulate an airline can do so when it has 20 planes. The airline plans to fly abroad from the second half of this year.


“Vistara (on Wednesday) received its 20th aircraft and its seventh Airbus A320neo powered by CFM engines…. With this milestone addition to its fleet, Vistara completes its initial aircraft order as planned at the early stages of setting up the airline. Vistara will use the new aircraft to increase frequencies on existing routes to scale up operations in the domestic market, while gearing up to start international operations soon,” the airline said in a statement.

In addition to its initial order of 20 aircraft, Vistara had placed an order of two more A320neo aircraft that are expected to be delivered by June 2018 and will enable the airline’s international operations.

Vistara CEO

Leslie Thng

said, “This is not just another addition to our fleet, but a landmark one that signals Vistara’s arrival on the global map and marks the beginning of our next phase of growth. What Vistara has achieved in three years is nothing less than phenomenal, and we’re confident that our distinctive approach to the business will continue to set new benchmarks for the industry.”

Vistara’s new aircraft comes in a cabin configuration of 158 seats — 8 business, 24 premium economy and 126 economy. Launched three years back, Vistara flies to 22 domestic destinations with over 730 flights a week.

Vistara has applied for international rights to a number of places in Gulf and southeast Asia like Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai — all within the range of the A-320. Its medium and long haul plans will hinge on the outcome of Air India bidding as Vistara is one of the likely bidders. Since AI has almost 50 widebody planes, the airline which gets the Maharaja will not have to place order for twin aisle planes for their medium to long haul flights. As a result, neither Vistara nor IndiGo (another potential bidder) have so far placed order for wide body planes for this very reason.

A Vistara spokesperson had in February told TOI: “Our plan is to start international operations in the second half of this year with our existing fleet of Airbus A-320s and fly to destinations within the aircraft’s range. At the same time, we are reviewing the type of aircraft we’ll need to support our future plans of international expansion so that we can commence medium haul routes (between 5-9 hours) after launching the regional/short-haul international routes. Long haul flights are something we will continue to be interested in and will commence when the time is right….” SIA is learnt to be very keen on AI and a successful bid could mean a quick ramp-up of Vistara’s international plans.


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