Vistara To Launch Jeddah Flights In August

Indian full-service airline Vistara has announced a new route between King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Jeddah, and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai. The new route to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city is part of the carrier’s efforts to expand its footprint, especially in the international markets.

In a statement, Mr Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said,

“The launch of services to Jeddah will further intensify our presence in the Middle East region. Saudi Arabia shares a strong bilateral relationship with India and is home to a significant population belonging to the Indian diaspora, thereby offering great prospects for Vistara’s growth. We are delighted to bring India’s best airline to the modern commercial hub of Saudi Arabia and hope that our customers will truly enjoy the award-winning product and services of Vistara.”

Vistara flies to Jeddah from August

The Indian carrier plans on starting the new route from August 2nd in a thrice-weekly service. Vistara will fly to Jeddah on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays using one of its Airbus A320s as flight UK 235. Flights will take off from BOM at 18:05 local time for the five-hour journey westward. Vistara is expecting turnaround times of one hour, allowing the aircraft to begin the return journey at 21:50 Saudi time for an early morning arrival into BOM.

Vistara will fly its Airbus A320 to Jeddah from August 2nd. Photo: Vistara

For this route, Vistara will use A320s outfitted in a three-class configuration with eight seats in business class up-front, followed by 24 in premium economy and 132 in regular economy. The carrier also operates all-economy A320s that can accommodate 180 seats.

Tickets for the new route are now available with prices starting at ₹18,500 ($240) one-way in economy, ₹20,300 ($262) in premium economy, and ₹42,100 ($542) in business class.

Competition on the route

BOM-JED is a reasonably popular route thanks to the large Indian diaspora and working population in Saudi Arabia. Vistara will be competing against other major Indian carriers like Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India Express. Saudia is the only Saudi carrier serving the route. All Indian airlines use narrowbody aircraft like the Airbus A320 or the Boeing 737, while Saudia operates widebodies like the Boeing 777-300ER or Airbus A330.

Vistara is best placed to compete with all airlines with its diverse product range and competitive pricing. In addition, it is the only airline serving this route to offer premium economy as an option to passengers.

Airlines need to follow rules set by the DGCA in its CAR regulations. Photo: Getty Images

Vistara’s entry into the India-Saudi market is expected to take some traffic away from existing operators. Along with the new route announcement, the airline also announced its early monsoon sale, where tickets for BOM-JED-BOM were sold for as low as ₹37,299 ($480) in economy, ₹46,449 ($599) in premium economy, and ₹59,949 ($772) in business class. Unfortunately, these fares are not available now as the sale ended at 23:59 IST on June 3rd.