The exit of Jet Airways from the Indian aviation industry created a void in the sector which was being filled by the other airlines. As a result of Jet’s closure of operations, other airlines flocked around to lease the planes from Jet which they seem to be using right now in their operations. The slots which Jet had occupied were also given to other airlines. To recall, Vistara had leased nine aircrafts from Jet which included Boeing 737s. However, in a new report which comes from PTI, the jointly owned airline by Tata Sons and SIA, Vistara has announced that it is phasing out the Boeing 737s and the first to go are the two planes whose lease expires shortly.
Other Aircraft to be Returned Later
The other seven of the aircrafts of Jet which remain with Vistara will be returned by 2022 or 2023 as they are on a longer lease as compared to these two aircrafts. It is worth noting that the full-service carrier has started returning these plans because it has started receiving deliveries from Airbus for the A320neos which it had placed an order for.
A Vistara spokesperson confirmed to PTI, "Two of our Boeing 737-800NG aircraft are exiting fleet this month as their lease tenure ends. The remaining seven have longer lease duration and most of them will exit fleet between 2022 and 2023.”
Vistara Starts Receiving New Aircrafts
Starting last November, Vistara has started receiving Airbus A320neos and also the carrier has placed an order for Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners which it will use for medium-haul flights. These planes are expected to join the Vistara fleet in April. Coincidentally, these are also the planes in which Vistara is expected to roll out in-flight Wi-Fi services for the first time in India, in partnership with NELCO.
After the exit of Jet Airways from the industry, the government had decided to give away 488 slots of Jet Airways across many major airports. Out of these slots Vistara had secured as much as 110 slots using the new aircrafts which it had leased from Jet Airways.
