(MENAFN- Bangladesh Monitor) New Delhi : Indian full-service carrier Vistara has attempted to push back deliveries of its four 787-9 Dreamliners for at least seven months, with arrival now expected in October 2022 instead of next March. The airline is also negotiating with Airbus to delay A320neo family deliveries.
The airline's Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan said, "We are spacing out our deliveries and pushing some to next year. There have been commercial discussions to see how we can better match delivery stream to the projected demand."
Vistara is also in discussions with Airbus regarding its outstanding order for 13 A320neo family aircraft. The airline has orders in for another 29 of the aircraft. It is also negotiating with lessors and manufacturers to adjust payment timetables in order to reduce costs.
Yet, the airline still has its sights set on expansion. The CCO said he believes it is still on track to have a fleet of 70 aircraft by 2023.
Its present fleet size is 48 aircraft, including 40 A320 family jets, its two Dreamliners and six 737 NGs.
Despite putting the brakes on international expansion plans for now, Vistara still has its sights firmly set on breaking into more new markets in the future. The CCO said that he still sees an opportunity to add more destinations, and believes that the pandemic has made Vistara's role in nonstop travel from India even more important.
Vistara currently flies to eight international destinations, including London, Tokyo and Frankfurt. While the airline does fly to the Middle East, letting passengers hook up with airlines like Emirates and Etihad, it wants to launch more nonstop services to Europe and the US in the coming months. To facilitate this, it is looking to either install new crew rest facilities on its existing 787-9s, or to lease more aircraft with the crew rests already fitted.
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