Vistara Airlines has inducted India’s first Long Range Airbus A321LR aircraft. Going ahead, the airline plans to expand its fleet with a total of 70 planes by mid-2024.
Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said: "We are excited to welcome our first A321LR to our growing fleet. This addition reiterates our stronger focus on international expansion, and enables us to offer longer range connectivity to our customers while also maintaining greater fuel efficiency.”
Of the total 70 planes, there will be 10 Airbus A321s and 53 A320 neo for domestic routes, and 7 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner wide body planes for serving international markets. Currently, the airline has a fleet of 53 aircraft
"We would love to operate more flights to Dubai, Singapore but those are all constrained by traffic rights. We had to look at other options... We will be looking at more points in the Middle East," Kannan added.
The newly-inducted A321LR aircraft has a configuration of 188 seats in three-class cabin, 12 lie flat seats in Business Class, 24 seats in Premium Economy, and 152 in Economy Class. All seats are equipped with 4-way adjustable headrests, in-seat power/USB charging ports, In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system.
Further, Kannan added that there is also the impact of the deployment of wide-body aircraft and currently Vistara has three such planes in its fleet. "They have been doing extremely well and the demand to Europe has been strong. In fact, flights have been flying with load factors in excess of 85-90 per cent. Therefore, that plays a positive role in the performance of the airline.”
Powered by next generation CFM LEAP-1A engines that ensure enhanced operational efficiency along with significantly reduced carbon footprint, the addition of the A321LR is in line with Vistara's commitment to minimising impact on the environment by maintaining a fleet of young and fuel-efficient aircraft, the airline said.