Where Is Vistara Flying Its Boeing 787 Dreamliner Aircraft?

Vistara currently operates two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. These aircraft can be found on the airline’s longest routes to Europe and Asia, but also shorter domestic hop between its hubs. Let’s take a look at where Vistara is flying its Dreamliners.

Vistara will take delivery of four more 787s in the next two years, completing its order for six aircraft. Photo: Vistara

Busy

Vistara currently flies to three long-haul international destinations: London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Tokyo. This means the two 787s fly three routes every week, which is made possible by the few frequencies currently operating.

When the Dreamliner’s aren’t flying internationally, Vistara makes good use of them domestically too. The widebodies can be seen on routes as short as Delhi-Jaipur (40 minutes) and on bustling routes like Delhi to Chennai, Mumbai, and Bangalore.

Vistara operates several weekly domestic flights, usually flying between international rotations. Photo: Getty Images

In addition to scheduled passenger flights, Vistara also uses its largest plane for cargo-only flights. The 787s have flown between Chennai and Seoul, South Korea, several times for freight missions. Overall, Vistara’s 787s are relatively accessible to domestic and international passengers alike, with the plane easy to spot across India’s biggest airports.

Rotations

To understand the Dreamlier’s packed schedule, let’s take a look at the plane’s rotations. The 787-9s fly from New Delhi to London on Mondays and Fridays, Tokyo on Wednesdays, and Frankfurt on Thursdays and Saturdays (from August onwards). This means both planes are back in Delhi on early Sunday morning, when they fly busy domestic hops for the day.

This schedule explains how Vistara can fly to multiple destinations using only two 787-9s. Four more planes are awaiting delivery, but low demand due to the pandemic means the carrier has been unable to scale up quickly. There were plans to fly to London daily and a route from Mumbai, however both have been put on ice due to travel restrictions.

As demand picks up, Vistara will likely take delivery of more of its 787-9s, two of which already ready. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The two Dreamliners currently flying are registered VT-TSD and -TSE, both of which arrived in March and August 2020, respectively. According to RadarBox.com, the two planes have been relatively busy since their deliveries, flying an average of 32-38 flights every month. While this figure could be much higher, it is a sign of the lower demand currently.

Where to next?

After a challenging year, Vistara is all set to get back on track. The airline made its first flight to Tokyo on Wednesday, its third long-haul and first East Asian route. However, the coming months will see more destinations announced as travel restrictions are eased thanks to vaccinations globally.

One particular country Vistara is eying is the United States. The carrier has already received permission from the DOT to start flights in late 2021 or early 2022. This means flights to New York, San Fransisco, and other cities could be kicking off in the near future. Considering the traffic between the two countries, the US could quickly become Vistara’s second-biggest market, only behind the UK.

What do you think about Vistara’s Dreamliner network? Let us know in the comments!

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