Vistara has begun flying between Mumbai and Mauritius, as it continues to expand its international offering. The airline has started several new offshore services in the last few months, even as it prepares to integrate business with Air India. Vistara’s brand will dissolve following the merger, but until then, it is squeezing the maximum out of renewed passenger demand.
Mumbai-Mauritius service
On March 26th, Vistara started its direct service between Mumbai and Mauritius. The airline had announced the flight some time back and will deploy its plane on the route five times a week.
Vistara will operate the flight to Mauritius (UK 241) on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Per Flightradar24.com, the inaugural flight took off at 06:13 from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) and reached Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) at 10:24 local time after flying for 5 hours and 45 minutes. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, commented,
“We are delighted to take India’s finest airline to Africa, as we launch operations to Mauritius. The long-standing relations and strong trade ties between the two countries, in addition to the growing tourism potential of the destination, make it a perfect fit in our network. We are confident that customers will appreciate having the option of experiencing Vistara’s award-winning product and services on this sector.”
Deploying the brand-new A321LR
The airline is offering its standard three-class service on this route — economy, premium economy, and business class. But what’s different about this flight is that it is being operated by Vistara’s new Airbus A321LR aircraft.
After receiving the plane in February, Vistara soon confirmed Mauritius as its first destination. The 2,905-mile (4,675 km) Mumbai-Mauritius airport pair falls well within the aircraft’s range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km). It can accommodate 206 passengers and fly long distances by utilizing extra fuel in three additional center tanks.
The A321LR isn’t the only new plane in Vistara’s fleet; the airline also inducted its 50th Airbus A320 family aircraft on February 28th. But Vistara has decided to pause any new aircraft orders ahead of its merger with Air India. The airline did clarify that it will continue to honor its existing aircraft orders, the bulk of which will be put towards further international expansion.
International operations
While Vistara’s brand will eventually cease to exist following business integration with Air India, the airline will continue to operate as a separate entity until early next year. And international expansion will feature significantly in the coming months.
Photo: Vistara
Kannan said recently that Vistara could increase the proportion of its international operations to 40% until its merger with Air India is finalized. It currently offers flights to several destinations in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, including Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Colombo, Dammam, Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Kathmandu, London Heathrow, Male, Muscat, Paris, and Singapore.
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