Vistara Receives First Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Vistara 787-9 aircraft on the Boeing flight line in Everett, Wash. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

[ Aircraft Orders and Deliveries ]March 1, 2020 12:41 am ET

By Hemal Gosai

The growing Indian airline Vistara has taken delivery of the first of its long-awaited Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners this past week.

It is the first of five and sets the stage for the beginning of true long haul international operations as airlines in India fill the void left by the collapse of Jet Airways.

Vistara has been set on international operations for quite some time now and the delivery of this aircraft will allow the airline to compete on a broader scale among global players giving it some relief from a highly competitive Indian market.

The collapse of Jet Airways did help reduce capacity and increase fares in India but competition remains stiff with fare wars that are exceedingly common and devastating to the point hardly anyone is making money. Hence, the focus is beyond the borders of India in search of yields.

With the exception of Air India, there is no longer any Indian airline that operates long haul widebody flights. If Vistara is able to appropriately fill that gap it can benefit from lucrative international routes that have generally higher fares and therefore better yields.

It has an excellent hard and soft product that is starting to be well known throughout the country and given the current issues with Air India, it is likely that many would be open to trying out Vistara on international flights if it matchs the same levels of passenger satisfaction that people have become accustomed to domestically.

New Dreamliner

Vistara’s Boeing 787-9 features 299 seats in a three-class cabin configuration: business, premium economy, and economy.

Business class features lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, premium economy in a 2-3-2 configuration, and economy be 3-3-3.

Vistara Business Class seating (Photo: Vistara)

Premium Economy seating (Photo: Vistara)

The Dreamliner will begin operations domestically in India starting in early March so crews can familiarize themselves with the aircraft. It will then start flying international routes, where exactly it will go first also hasn’t been released yet.

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Hemal Gosai

Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn't working as an analyst he's frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile. Hemal's opinions are his own and do not reflect those of his employer.

Author

Hemal Gosai

Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn't working as an analyst he's frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile.
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