Vistara to delay some of its aircraft deliveries!

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Indian airline - Vistara is in talks with the planemakers and leasing companies to delay some of its aircraft deliveries taking into consideration the current market situation and production delays.

Vistara had placed an order for 13 A320-neo family aircraft from Airbus in 2018 and would take another 37 Airbus planes from leasing companies - all due for delivery between 2019 and 2023.

Apart from that, it also has six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner widebody planes on order, primarily for international flights, due to be delivered in 2020 and 2021.

"We are looking to see how we can push back some of the deliveries not just because of the delays in production but also from a commercial perspective," said Vinod Kannan (Chief Commercial Officer).

Due to current restrictions imposed as a result of covid-19 pandemic, the airline is flying only a handful of routes with around 1/3rd of its fleet (around 13 aircraft out of 41).
Moreover, Vistara is seeing an average of 50-60% passenger load since domestic flights resumed.
With restrictions imposed on international flights, Vistara has been unable to deploy its brand-new Dreamliner on any long-haul routes, rather uses it a few times for high-demand domestic flights.

As a consequence of pandemic, Vistara has significantly scaled back the number of planes it will add to its fleet.
Nevertheless, the airline will add three more aircraft to their fleet (one 787 dreamliner and two A320s) this year.

The precarious nature of covid-19 pandemic has ultimately put the airline's long term goals on hold.
The airline planned to double its international destinations this year and induct a large mix of widebodies and narrowbodies.
The delay could mean current aircraft deliveries extend into 2024.

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