Everett, WA, United States, 27 February 2020: Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a JV of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, today took delivery of its first wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, marking a significant milestone for India’s only five-star airline. The new aircraft will depart Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center at 0800 Hours PST on 28 February 2020 and arrive in India at 1400 Hours IST on 29 February 2020. With this, Vistara also becomes India’s first airline to fly Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Commenting on this milestone occasion, Vistara’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Leslie Thng said, “This aircraft delivery marks a new phase of growth for Vistara and unlocks our potential to become one of world’s best airlines. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is one of world’s most technologically advanced aircraft. We are delighted to add it to our growing fleet with a brand new wide-body product designed to global standards, hence offering the ‘new feeling of flying’ to our customers across the world.”
“Vistara has shown their commitment to bringing a full-service luxury flying experience to the growing Indian market and we are honoured they chose the 787 Dreamliner to inaugurate their widebody operations and drive their global growth. Vistara’s faith and confidence in the Dreamliner speaks to the airplane’s unparalleled fuel efficiency, range flexibility and ability to create new city pairs, allowing the airline to connect India domestically, regionally and beyond,” said Mr. Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing of The Boeing Company.
The new aircraft is the first of six that Vistara purchased from Boeing. The second Vistara Dreamliner is currently on the production line and will be delivered soon.
“We will use the Boeing 787 Dreamliners to soon begin flying long-haul routes, providing authentic Indian hospitality to customers in a modern, global setting”, added Mr. Thng.
Vistara’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner comes with 299 seats in three-class cabin configuration, giving customers a choice of Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins. Vistara’s Dreamliners feature lie-flat business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration that gives direct aisle access to each Business Class passenger, and a separate Premium Economy cabin will offer seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Vistara’s Dreamliners come with a host of other features in all three cabins, thoughtfully put together to reflect Vistara’s focus on delivering an unparalleled flying experience. These include in-seat TVs in all three cabins with High Definition (HD) Display offering a cutting-edge In-flight Entertainment system powered by Panasonic as well as in-flight WiFi internet connectivity onboard long-haul international flights, subject to necessary regulatory approvals. The latter, thus, makes Vistara India’s first airline to offer the service.
The aircraft also features Boeing-designed advanced air purification system, more headroom, greater space in overhead bins, larger windows that give an increased sense of space, turbulence-dampening technology and lower cabin altitude – all designed for travellers to arrive at their destination feeling fresh and time-adjusted.
Vistara is India’s highest-rated airline on Skytrax and TripAdvisor and has been the winner of several ‘Best Airline’ awards. In a short span of five years, Vistara has raised the bar for operations and service delivery in the Indian aviation industry by offering the finest flying experience to travellers. The airline is poised to grow its fleet significantly by adding more than 40 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing by 2023, including Airbus A320neo, A321neo and Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner.