Indian full-service carrier Vistara has become the country’s first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) aircraft to its fleet. The new plane arrived in Delhi, India, on February 4, 2023.

A special delivery

The A321LR flight from Hamburg Finkerwerde Airport (XFW) to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) lasted seven hours and 27 minutes, according to Flightradar24.com data.

Compared to other A320neo family jets, the Airbus A321LR boasts an extended range capability. The new aircraft can fly as far as 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 kilometers) and can accommodate 206 passengers by utilizing extra fuel in three Additional Centre Tanks.

With the airline’s brand-new A321LR, Vistara currently has a total of 53 aircraft in its fleet with an average age of 2.9 years, according to Planespotters.net data. The fleet includes 42 Airbus A320s, six Airbus A321s, three Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.

While the airline confirmed in January 2023 that it would press pause on ordering new planes ahead of the Air India merger, Vistara will honor its existing aircraft orders. According to ch-aviation.com data, Vistara

currently has a total of 13 aircraft on order, including nine Airbus A320neos and four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

As reported by Simple Flying earlier in January 2023, the airline’s chief executive officer, Vinod Kannan, confirmed the current situation, saying,

“We have not looked at any orders beyond that [2024]. There has been the announcement about the merger and integration with Air India. Once we have approval from the relevant authorities, we will sit down together with Air India as a joint entity to see what we do.”

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About Vistara

Vistara is an Indian full-service carrier founded as a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA) in 2013. It officially started its operations on January 9, 2015, and since then, it has had a considerable influence on the Indian aviation sector, even despite its comparative youth.

Currently, the carrier conducts flights to 43 destinations across 13 countries. According to the airline, it has carried more than 42 million passengers since its inception.

First A320neo of Vistara
Photo: Airbus

Looking ahead, Vistara is expected to merge with another Tata-owned airline, Air India, in March 2024, allowing the group to become more competitive against its Indian low-cost rival IndiGo.

Vistara is a relatively strong airline when it comes to its financial situation. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Delhi-based airline recorded the first net profit since the start of its operations due to increased travel demand in India, Vistara outlined in its financial report for the quarter ending December 2022.

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Sources: Flightradar24.com, Planespotters.net, ch-aviation.com