Vistara is planning a robust fleet expansion before its proposed merger with Air India post which brand Vistara will cease to exist. The airline is seeking to increase its fleet to 70 aircraft in the next few years and expand its international capacity by at least 40%.
Speaking on the route expansion, Vinod Kannan, CEO, Vistara said: “Vistara will continue to expand with more international routes added, and we would love to operate more flights to Dubai and Singapore but those are all constrained by traffic rights. When looking at other options, we could be focusing at more points in the Middle East and Europe."
Till the scheduled merger, both the airlines are independent entities eyeing international capacity. Hence to actively compete with Air India, Vistara is planning recent route resumptions and launched new routes to boost capacity.
“To aid the route network growth, Vistara aims to house at least 70 aircraft, all coming from pending orders and perhaps some extra leased jets,” Kannan added.
Meanwhile the airline recently took delivery of its fourth 787-9 Dreamliner out of seven. The aircraft was delivered in the last week of March and took its first Delhi-Bangalore flight on April 20, 2023. The aircraft took a long-haul flight from Delhi to London Heathrow the next day.
With the delivery of its fourth Dreamliner, Vistara might add another destination soon to its long-haul network.