RemoFlyer wrote:

CaliguyNYC wrote:

voxkel wrote:

Looks like AI is resuming 105/106 (aka MUMBAI NEW YORK nonstop) from 25 October.

http://airindia.com/flight-status-update.htm

Currently there are 7 weekly nonstop flights from BOM to North America. It is crazy to think that in less than 4 months, there will be 28 weekly flights:
10 to NEW YORK (AI + DL)
14 to NEWARK (AI + UA)
4 to TORONTO (AC)

I think that is old. They originally temporarily suspended it, but you cannot book the flight over the peak Xmas New Years period. With Delta launching, I think the AI flight is dead. And it should be. AI should either launch EWR-DEL 3X (which is think is more needed than JFK-BOM as JFK-DEL-BOM still exists) or raise IAD-DEL to 6X or launch LAX-DEL 3X. I would say raise IAD-DEL to 6X. A 3X flight is too little and IAD-India is a huge market with Star FF.

No self respecting Star FF would set foot on AI. There is a slew of one stop options to India from IAD.

I dont know why you would say that. As a star gold member, if I get a good deal on Air India XXX-DEL-IAD I will happily take it. Better service and food than most airlines. Extremely professional and reliable cockpit crew. The hard product sure is a hit or miss but as a self-respecting Star FF, if I get a good deal, i would have no problem traveling on Air India and I have multiple times to Newark, San Francisco, and Dulles and preferred to pay a little more for the non-stop option.

RemoFlyer wrote:

CaliguyNYC wrote:

voxkel wrote:

Looks like AI is resuming 105/106 (aka MUMBAI NEW YORK nonstop) from 25 October.

http://airindia.com/flight-status-update.htm

Currently there are 7 weekly nonstop flights from BOM to North America. It is crazy to think that in less than 4 months, there will be 28 weekly flights:
10 to NEW YORK (AI + DL)
14 to NEWARK (AI + UA)
4 to TORONTO (AC)

I think that is old. They originally temporarily suspended it, but you cannot book the flight over the peak Xmas New Years period. With Delta launching, I think the AI flight is dead. And it should be. AI should either launch EWR-DEL 3X (which is think is more needed than JFK-BOM as JFK-DEL-BOM still exists) or raise IAD-DEL to 6X or launch LAX-DEL 3X. I would say raise IAD-DEL to 6X. A 3X flight is too little and IAD-India is a huge market with Star FF.

No self respecting Star FF would set foot on AI. There is a slew of one stop options to India from IAD.

Well you are just plane wrong. UA monitors AI's flights (meaning how many and who credits AI flights back to UA's FF program). Apparently there was enough to make UA start SFO-DEL. Also AI pretty much only does well in UA hubs here in the US. That said, I am in no way saying AI is anybody's first choice. The lure of the nonstop flight does seem to be enough to pull Star fliers. Also UA is pretty generous wrt earning on AI flights (both miles and status miles).

The big opportunity and many challenges for Vistara

With Jet Airways suspending operations in April — another full service carrier (FSC) shut shop in India. From January to June, over 70 percent of Indian passenger traffic was carried by Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) with national carrier Air India and TATA-SIA joint venture Vistara being the only two FSCs in operation currently.

The Indian aviation market has been growing at record speeds since 2014, until the fall of Jet Airways. Airlines have placed record orders with both Airbus and Boeing, the country has recorded good growth and yet since 1991 when the civil aviation sector was de-regularised, FSCs have not been able to make a cut in the market — which has been dominated by LCCs since mid-2000s.

From 1991 until 2005 when Kingfisher Airlines started, the FSC flag was being held high by Jet Airways and Air Sahara along with state-owned Indian Airlines. By 2006, Air Sahara was pocketed by Jet Airways and Air Deccan which started operations in 2003 was hurting competition, until Kingfisher purchased it in 2008. Kingfisher ceased operations in October 2012, after being in “holding pattern” for a few months. From 2012 to 2015, Jet Airways had a free run again — with just one competitor in the FSC space — the state-run Air India.

IndiGo announces Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam!

Kolkata- Ho Chi Minh from 18th Oct, daily flights.

This along with their recently announced Kolkata- Hanoi (Vietnam) & Kolkata- Yangon {Myanmar) flights starting next month. So this will be their second flight to Vietnam, connecting the two main Viet cities, and both to be served from Kolkata.

avier wrote:

IndiGo announces Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam!

Kolkata- Ho Chi Minh from 18th Oct, daily flights.

This along with their recently announced Kolkata- Hanoi (Vietnam) & Kolkata- Yangon {Myanmar) flights starting next month. So this will be their second flight to Vietnam, connecting the two main Viet cities, and both to be served from Kolkata.

I hope this works for them and glad to see CCU getting SE Asia connectivity beyond BKK. Hope Indigo can get a small connecting hub going in CCU. Long over due for that city.

avier wrote:

IndiGo announces Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam!

Kolkata- Ho Chi Minh from 18th Oct, daily flights.

This along with their recently announced Kolkata- Hanoi (Vietnam) & Kolkata- Yangon {Myanmar) flights starting next month. So this will be their second flight to Vietnam, connecting the two main Viet cities, and both to be served from Kolkata.

I read in an article that Ho Chi Minh City (or the former "Saigon") route was started because Indigo is showing strong bookings on its Hanoi flight. The article then goes on to say that Ho Chi Minh City was connected to Kolkatta, specifically, for seamlessly plugging it into Indigo's India "Buddhist" circuit for which CCU is the hub. Seems logical.

Interestingly, VietJet is starting Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi service to New Delhi so maybe VietJet, unlike Indigo, is more focused on tapping the business sector and the non-Buddhist tourist aspect.

The good thing for India is the VietJet and Indigo flights won't compete for now thus providing a chance for both the airlines to hopefully "establish and develop" (my phrase) their respective routes.

edealinfo wrote:

CollegeAviator wrote:

Vistara have added 2 more Boeing 737-800s to their fleet

VT-TGG is the ex VT-JFS, B737-800HGW with Boeing Sky Interior
VT-TGI is in the fleet as well, but not sure of which frame it used to be.

1. with these 2 aircraft, does Vistara fleet of 737 now total 9, 10, or 11?

2. Are any more B737 expected?

3. On what routes will the 2 737’s be deployed?
Thanks

1. That'll be up to 9...

2. ... which means one more, per original plans

3. Domestic expansion, perhaps more intl routes till the A321LRs come in (my guess is this is what Vistara will get by the end of the year to get the fleet number up to 40...)

CollegeAviator wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

CollegeAviator wrote:

Vistara have added 2 more Boeing 737-800s to their fleet

VT-TGG is the ex VT-JFS, B737-800HGW with Boeing Sky Interior
VT-TGI is in the fleet as well, but not sure of which frame it used to be.

1. with these 2 aircraft, does Vistara fleet of 737 now total 9, 10, or 11?

2. Are any more B737 expected?

3. On what routes will the 2 737’s be deployed?
Thanks

1. That'll be up to 9...

2. ... which means one more, per original plans

3. Domestic expansion, perhaps more intl routes till the A321LRs come in (my guess is this is what Vistara will get by the end of the year to get the fleet number up to 40...)

Here is what I know:
1. By the end of this year (or fiscal year?) they will have 41 aircraft..
2. Brand new aircraft are coming in each month.
3. In addition to a320, they have also ordered the a321 but as far as I know it is not the LR version. Where did you hear or read that?

Now for a twist. Vistara’s September magazine (available online) is completely missing the usual pages on their fleet and route map. Why???

Vistara will provide in seat power source in their upcoming set of a320s .

edealinfo wrote:

CollegeAviator wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

1. with these 2 aircraft, does Vistara fleet of 737 now total 9, 10, or 11?

2. Are any more B737 expected?

3. On what routes will the 2 737’s be deployed?
Thanks

1. That'll be up to 9...

2. ... which means one more, per original plans

3. Domestic expansion, perhaps more intl routes till the A321LRs come in (my guess is this is what Vistara will get by the end of the year to get the fleet number up to 40...)

Here is what I know:
1. By the end of this year (or fiscal year?) they will have 41 aircraft..
2. Brand new aircraft are coming in each month.
3. In addition to a320, they have also ordered the a321 but as far as I know it is not the LR version. Where did you hear or read that?

Now for a twist. Vistara’s September magazine (available online) is completely missing the usual pages on their fleet and route map. Why???

Hmm, I thought I read it was the LR version. That is my bad.

Vistara did not order the LR version

CaliguyNYC wrote:

avier wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

Thanks. But, what about rights to other places such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc. Is Air India squatting on allocated rights or using them? For instance, AI was supposed to start Pune to Singapore but has not started it as yet.

Dubai & Hong Kong have been well utilised. Doha, Singapore & UK (LHR) remain largely unused. They have just announced DEL-DOH 4x weekly, that's about it.
Do note, they are facing fuel crisis at certain airports and still have many a/c grounded.

I don't know why people keep bringing up DOH and AUH. They won't be fully utilized (and they weren't fully utilized before Jet's fall). The O&D numbers are just not there.

Probably not, but 6E’s current ops at Doha say otherwise:

* Double daily to Delhi/Mumbai (1 daily A321neo and A320 each)
* Double daily to Hyderabad (both with A320)
* Daily each to Chennai/Kozhikode (A321neo)
* Daily to Kochi/Kannur each (A320s)

The blockade sort of proves that O/D did exist but was heavily fragmented amongst GCC carriers. With most of those carriers out of Doha - volumes would’ve likely gone up.

edealinfo wrote:

avier wrote:

IndiGo announces Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam!

Kolkata- Ho Chi Minh from 18th Oct, daily flights.

This along with their recently announced Kolkata- Hanoi (Vietnam) & Kolkata- Yangon {Myanmar) flights starting next month. So this will be their second flight to Vietnam, connecting the two main Viet cities, and both to be served from Kolkata.

I read in an article that Ho Chi Minh City (or the former "Saigon") route was started because Indigo is showing strong bookings on its Hanoi flight. The article then goes on to say that Ho Chi Minh City was connected to Kolkatta, specifically, for seamlessly plugging it into Indigo's India "Buddhist" circuit for which CCU is the hub. Seems logical.

Interestingly, VietJet is starting Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi service to New Delhi so maybe VietJet, unlike Indigo, is more focused on tapping the business sector and the non-Buddhist tourist aspect.

The good thing for India is the VietJet and Indigo flights won't compete for now thus providing a chance for both the airlines to hopefully "establish and develop" (my phrase) their respective routes.

Im glad to be back again after long time and glad to respond to you as my first post lolz....And about this same budhist circuit thing....I told you so..guess u dont remember bro

avier wrote:

IndiGo announces Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam!

Kolkata- Ho Chi Minh from 18th Oct, daily flights.

This along with their recently announced Kolkata- Hanoi (Vietnam) & Kolkata- Yangon {Myanmar) flights starting next month. So this will be their second flight to Vietnam, connecting the two main Viet cities, and both to be served from Kolkata.

The NEO's had thrown a wrinkle in IndiGo's flight plan. Now that those issues seem to have been contained .....

Let the growth begin. Indian Govt. strategy of not playing ball with countries who don't open up slots to Indian carriers will start to show results. LCC's will start picking market share in the secondary airports to make some of the Asian carriers with dominant (& restricted hubs) irrelevant.

Again, good to see growth outside of BOM/DEL.

FligtReporter wrote:

Im glad to be back again after long time and glad to respond to you as my first post lolz....And about this same budhist circuit thing....I told you so..guess u dont remember bro

Welcome back!

A few questions for Indian aviation fans. Is it time for AI to expand it's widebody fleet? I know AI has had issues with their 787'S mainly their RR engines would AI consider buying or leasing 789'S and 787-10'S. The 10'S could be used for higher demand flights to London and elsewhere. Or could AI be looking to the 350 family for future widebody equipment? Has anybody expressed interest in 9W'S 77W'S? Certainly would offer an interim ability to UK to enter long range international markets before their 787'S begin arrive? Perhaps SG should consider them to begin long range international flights to Europe.

Your thoughts

georgiabill wrote:

A few questions for Indian aviation fans. Is it time for AI to expand it's widebody fleet? I know AI has had issues with their 787'S mainly their RR engines would AI consider buying or leasing 789'S and 787-10'S. The 10'S could be used for higher demand flights to London and elsewhere. Or could AI be looking to the 350 family for future widebody equipment?
Your thoughts

The answer is very simple. Can a poor man afford to buy a Rs. 1 crore apartment? It is the same analogy.

By the way, Air India doesn’t even have money to fully pay for fuel , and about 20 aircraft in its fleet are grounded since it doesn’t have cash to buy spare parts to get them back in the air. In such a scenario, look at the question you posed to the group.

Anyone know how IngiGo's Istanbul fights are performing? Are they still making stops on the way?

Blerg wrote:

Anyone know how IngiGo's Istanbul fights are performing? Are they still making stops on the way?

Nope. They are non stop now. IndiGo just launched the second daily on this route

unrave wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Anyone know how IngiGo's Istanbul fights are performing? Are they still making stops on the way?

Nope. They are non stop now. IndiGo just launched the second daily on this route

Thanks. Hopefully loads are good as well even though their onboard product is much inferior compared to TK.

GoAir is finalising launch of its newest destination: Aizawl (Lengpui) in Mizoram. To likely start flights on 4th Oct, and will operate on Guwahati- Aizawl route, on an A320. Will later connect with Kolkata, Delhi and other places.

Currently, Aizawl has Air India's monopoly over it since Jet shutdown, and as usual AI is milking the route with high fares. Spicejet served this station briefly, for less than a year from Oct 2016. IndiGo is considering launching service to Aizawl too.

Just flew Vistara a few weeks ago after a long time ( 2 Years ) and the changes I noticed in DOMESTIC ECONOMY now are

1.They serve meals on tray smaller in comparison to PE but its a nice change from that ugly box

2.They make Announcement with meals details for economy passengers as Eco pax dont get curated menu cards as PE and BC Pax get..Last time I flew it was just "We are bout to begin our inflight meals service" This time "idli soakedin sambar for vegetarian and Bla bla chiken for non vegetarian" also for short flight full detail of snadwiches to be served on a 45 min flight was announced like "lemon Garlic paneer sndwich for vegetarian and chicken Sandwich in brown bread for non veg"

3.They gotten away with those plastic water bottles on longer sectors like MUM-DEL etc Because on short DEL-LKO sector there was a bottle in the snack box which is more suitable for short flights than Longer ones..Which reminded me of Kingfisher's red snack boxes which had sandwiches and stuff in it.


4.Inclusion of Café Aubergine Menu card for EL pax however payment for BOB meals can only be made through Ind Debit and Ind Intl Credit cards

I like they are not going over in expenses but staying in limits and thats great for the business...unlike Kingfisher who turned out to be soo glittery like a fake gold plate which lasted for short time and thats the difference between Professionals with expereince running a truly classic airline and a spoilt brat failing a good airline.

Overall nice to see them marching towards success ..looking forward to hearing from folks who have flown internationally with them.

No extension of Mangalore runway. In true Indian fashion, it will take ANOTHER major accident (regrettably, with a death count beyond what occurred in the prior 2 major accidents) for the Government/civic authorities to make any changes.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Ma ... 629551.ece

edealinfo wrote:

No extension of Mangalore runway. In true Indian fashion, it will take ANOTHER major accident (regrettably, with a death count beyond what occurred in the prior 2 major accidents) for the Government/civic authorities to make any changes.

It's not that short of a runway, that requires an urgent extension. If airlines like AIX/Spice keep overshooting the runway while on approach, because their pilots can't seem to touchdown at the correct touchdown marking/zone at the right speed and use of effective breaking, doesn't mean runways have to be extended due to their pilot's poor usage of the existing available runway length.

Spicejet overshot Mumbai/Bhopal/Surat,etc runway, does that now mean BOM and those airports have to extend their runway?

There are many airports in India where runways are much shorter than Mangalore's, and see operations of A320/737 size aircrafts. Ones I can think of : Dehradun/Jammu/Madurai/Patna/ Agartala.

Blerg wrote:

Anyone know how IngiGo's Istanbul fights are performing? Are they still making stops on the way?

A friend of mine flew the route last month, and told never again! Lack of hot food options other than sandwiches and cup noodles for 7+ hour flight makes a very tiring journey.

Having said that loads were good if they want to succeed, they may need aircraft with ovens and some seats with better legroom for extra monies.

avier wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

No extension of Mangalore runway. In true Indian fashion, it will take ANOTHER major accident (regrettably, with a death count beyond what occurred in the prior 2 major accidents) for the Government/civic authorities to make any changes.

It's not that short of a runway, that requires an urgent extension. If airlines like AIX/Spice keep overshooting the runway while on approach, because their pilots can't seem to touchdown at the correct touchdown marking/zone at the right speed and use of effective breaking, doesn't mean runways have to be extended due to their pilot's poor usage of the existing available runway length.

Spicejet overshot Mumbai/Bhopal/Surat,etc runway, does that now mean BOM and those airports have to extend their runway?

There are many airports in India where runways are much shorter than Mangalore's, and see operations of A320/737 size aircrafts. Ones I can think of : Dehradun/Jammu/Madurai/Patna/ Agartala.

The point also is that Mangaluru may need a larger runway to attract airlines from the Middle East (Oman Air, Emirates, etc.) and to deal with demand in the future. They should expand the runway NOW rather than in 20 years when the land and and project costs will be 10X more than what it is today. If I am not mistaken, Mangaluru is expanding rapidly, which means that for every year of delay in expanding the runway, it will be even more harder to implement at a later time because of land acquisition, rising costs, and other issues. My grouch is that India acts only when there is an issue as opposed to being proactive and acting in advance. As an example look what's happened to Mopa airport, how long did it take to get Mumbai's second airport of the ground, etc.

There is already a plan for acquiring land to expand the airport and a lot of planning work and rehabilitation plans for the displaced has already been done. If they stop now, those plans will gather dust and in 10 to 20 years, when they dust off those files, they will realize that the opportunity has passed because there would have been a lot of development in the area and the associated obstruction, and other issues, will prevent an expansion.

sibibom wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Anyone know how IngiGo's Istanbul fights are performing? Are they still making stops on the way?

A friend of mine flew the route last month, and told never again! Lack of hot food options other than sandwiches and cup noodles for 7+ hour flight makes a very tiring journey.

Having said that loads were good if they want to succeed, they may need aircraft with ovens and some seats with better legroom for extra monies.

That will be a problem for IndiGo. Prices out of India are not high so flying is relatively affordable, they are not revolutionizing the market, they will need something to differentiate themselves as prices are just not enough.

They should at the very minimum fit a small subfleet of aircraft with over and offer hot BOB meals.

India's domestic air passenger traffic beats global trend, up by 8.9% in July:

New Delhi: At a time when the global air passenger growth is decreasing, Indian domestic air passenger market clocked an 8.9% growth in July this year when compared to the same month last year, international airlines body IATA said on Friday.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ind ... 29894.html

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

sibibom wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Anyone know how IngiGo's Istanbul fights are performing? Are they still making stops on the way?

A friend of mine flew the route last month, and told never again! Lack of hot food options other than sandwiches and cup noodles for 7+ hour flight makes a very tiring journey.

Having said that loads were good if they want to succeed, they may need aircraft with ovens and some seats with better legroom for extra monies.

They could borrow Jet Blue's idea for transcontinental service (Mint). Offer Business for premium traffic plus add service items.

avier wrote:

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

What is the competition for them on these sectors?

avier wrote:

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

It is smart of them to start new cities that are connecting to their "hub" (Delhi) and aspiring "mini hub" (Mumbai). Does anyone know if these are ex-Jet slots from DEL and BOM, or not?

The other major city that could potentially be a mini hub is presumably BLR. If so, why is Vistara not starting more flights to BLR to other cities? The fourth city in terms of premium traffic is presumably Chennai. Why is Vistara not also expanding operations there?

Given that slots in major metros will be exhausted in the near future (except for BLR), I would think that Vistara should connect the following cities while the slots are available. For instance, connecting Pune to Madras will get 2 important slot restricted cities on both ends and heck, aren't Madras and Pune important automotive centers anyway? Madras to Goa will also be a good route.

Top slot constrained airports in my opinion:
1. BOM (should be #1 priority)
2. Pune (priority #2)
3. Madras
4. Goa
5. DEL

edealinfo wrote:

avier wrote:

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

What is the competition for them on these sectors?

Used to be AI and 9W, now 9W is gone, 6E has just entered the market. However, there is a HUGE premium demand on these sectors. You don't pay 30-50k/night for hotels to travel in 6E!

Russian investor likely to be disqualified from bidding for JET airways leaving just one bidder who might drop out as well if he doesn't secure majority control of the Board. All this is coming to light when these so-called investors were asked to place a cash deposit to access the data room. It mind-boggles me that a deposit was not asked in the first instance (when reeving initial EOIs) which would have ruled out non-serious bidders and avoided illogical bureaucratic motions (of trying to find buyers to revive Jet) before the inevitable liquidation, which is the only option.

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news ... 38234.html

sibibom wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

avier wrote:

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

What is the competition for them on these sectors?

Used to be AI and 9W, now 9W is gone, 6E has just entered the market. However, there is a HUGE premium demand on these sectors. You don't pay 30-50k/night for hotels to travel in 6E!

Gotcha! And, point very well made!

The Government is looking to "temporarily" (*WINK* WINK*) reallocate Jet's LHR rights. Of Jet's 28 weekly rights from India to LHR, 14 were given to Air India. I am guessing that of the remaining rights 7X each would be given to Vistara and Indigo. of course these so called rights are meaningless if the carriers don't also fork out $$$$$ to lease LHR slots from other airlines. The lottery system for LHR slots (to avoid shelling $$$$$) is just that -- a lottery.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 041098.cms

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/busin ... 17961.html

Air Asia India's performance is improving (lower losses)

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/busin ... 06801.html

https://www.thehindu.com/business/air-a ... 376884.ece

Government gives away Pune-origin international slots to Air India which vows not to use them. Go figure!

Too bad Vistara has lost interest....probably because it just started a flight to Singapore from next door - Mumbai. Nevertheless, I still think that Pune to Singapore on Vistara makes sense given:

a) It would be the only international flight eastwards from Pune
b) It can codeshare with Singapore Airlines for additional traffic and onward connections
c) Pune slots are limited and it will be years before a new airport is constructed
d) There is no competition from foreign airlines with perceived superior quality and service
e) I believe no Singapore carrier is allowed to fly to Pune
f) Pune appears to have base of middle and upper income folk
g) Vistara could start a daily flight with a 737 or A320 so it is not like they have a wide body to fill.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cit ... 987447.cms

Air India to start additional DEL to Doha flights this winter.

Does anyone know of India carriers' % share of India's bilateral to Qatar? My guess is about 90% (at least)

https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/0 ... r-schedule

Air India is back to its old canard of hoarding flying rights without lunching flights. Many of you may not remember this but until 2011 Air India used to have something called right of first refusal on international flights, wherein if any carrier wishes to start an international flight Air India has to first give its consent. Air India has indeed used this right to scuttle the international plans of rival carriers. Just one of the innumerable ways in which this albatross has harmed flight connectivity in India

edealinfo wrote:

avier wrote:

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

It is smart of them to start new cities that are connecting to their "hub" (Delhi) and aspiring "mini hub" (Mumbai). Does anyone know if these are ex-Jet slots from DEL and BOM, or not?

The other major city that could potentially be a mini hub is presumably BLR. If so, why is Vistara not starting more flights to BLR to other cities? The fourth city in terms of premium traffic is presumably Chennai. Why is Vistara not also expanding operations there?

Given that slots in major metros will be exhausted in the near future (except for BLR), I would think that Vistara should connect the following cities while the slots are available. For instance, connecting Pune to Madras will get 2 important slot restricted cities on both ends and heck, aren't Madras and Pune important automotive centers anyway? Madras to Goa will also be a good route.

Top slot constrained airports in my opinion:
1. BOM (should be #1 priority)
2. Pune (priority #2)
3. Madras
4. Goa
5. DEL

You should first realize that adding any more base will lead to a good increase in total costs of the airline as they need to start crew bases, catering in that city . It's not possible for a small airline to rapidly grow and connect every route which seems worth a flight .

edealinfo wrote:

avier wrote:

Vistara adds two new cities to it's network: Jodhpur & Udaipur

Daily direct services from Mumbai & Delhi to the two new destinations. Starting from 4th Oct.

What is the competition for them on these sectors?

It's mostly IndiGo & Air India for now.
Spicejet has a pattern of flying to these two cities from BOM (to UDR) & DEL (to JDH) only during the winter schedule i.e Oct- March.
Vistara was very much needed for these two destinations, as like stated by sibibom, they are high end tourist destinations, not just for Indians but from foreign tourists too. Also they an ideal destination for lavish weddings.

edealinfo wrote:

The other major city that could potentially be a mini hub is presumably BLR. If so, why is Vistara not starting more flights to BLR to other cities?

Vistara has infact downsized the number of cities served from BLR to only connecting to BOM & DEL now. Speaks a lot about FSC demand for domestic from BLR. It remains an LCC turf mostly.

Vistara has signed up with Panasonic Aero for its seatback entertainment on its A321 and B787 aircraft
https://livefromalounge.boardingarea.co ... l-flights/

binayak wrote:

You should first realize that adding any more base will lead to a good increase in total costs of the airline as they need to start crew bases, catering in that city . It's not possible for a small airline to rapidly grow and connect every route which seems worth a flight .

I agree 100 percent with what you say, generally,......however, in the example I cited specifically, it makes no sense because Vistara already operates to those stations namely, Pune, BOM, DEL, Madras and Goa. So, for instance, a flight from Madras to Goa, wouldn’t involve creating a new station for Vistara.

CollegeAviator wrote:

Vistara have added 2 more Boeing 737-800s to their fleet

VT-TGG is the ex VT-JFS, B737-800HGW with Boeing Sky Interior
VT-TGI is in the fleet as well, but not sure of which frame it used to be.

VT-TGI is the ex JFB.
And finally, the 10th B737 from 9W is VT-TGJ, ex JFC

With that, here is what Vistara's 737 fleet looks like, which may help in predicting newer intl destinations:
VT-TGA ex JFE (6.8 years old) delivered late May 2019, unsure if it's been repainted
VT-TGB ex JFH (6.3 years old) delivered late May 2019, unsure if it's been repainted
VT-TGC ex JFZ (4.9 years old) delivered mid June 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGD ex JBW (7.9 years old) delivered late May 2019, repainted (HGW w/seatback PTVs, but disabled)
VT-TGE ex JFL (6.1 years old) delivered late June 2019, unsure if repainted
VT-TGF ex JTA (4.8 years old) delivered mid June 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGG ex JFS (5.4 years old) delivered mid August 2019, pretty sure repainted (HGW)
VT-TGH ex JFT (5.3 years old) delivered late July 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGI ex JFB (7.1 years old) delivered early September 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGJ ex JFC (7.1 years old) due (mid September 2019?), repainted (HGW)
Thanks to information from Planespotters

*All 737s are equipped with 12 seats in Business, 156 in Economy
*All 737s also have Boeing Sky Interior
*HGW planes are most likely to fly on intl routes (DEL/BOM-SIN, although this is changing to the A320neo anyway)

avier wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

The other major city that could potentially be a mini hub is presumably BLR. If so, why is Vistara not starting more flights to BLR to other cities?

Vistara has infact downsized the number of cities served from BLR to only connecting to BOM & DEL now. Speaks a lot about FSC demand for domestic from BLR. It remains an LCC turf mostly.

Interesting tid-bit. If BLR cannot support full service, not sure outside of BOM Vistara will have opportunities to fulfill.

edealinfo wrote:

binayak wrote:

You should first realize that adding any more base will lead to a good increase in total costs of the airline as they need to start crew bases, catering in that city . It's not possible for a small airline to rapidly grow and connect every route which seems worth a flight .

I agree 100 percent with what you say, generally,......however, in the example I cited specifically, it makes no sense because Vistara already operates to those stations namely, Pune, BOM, DEL, Madras and Goa. So, for instance, a flight from Madras to Goa, wouldn’t involve creating a new station for Vistara.

For the example you state , Vistara'll have to start a crew base at Chennai/Goa which might not be worth unless the airline plans to increase ops from these cities rapidly in the short term .

binayak wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

binayak wrote:

You should first realize that adding any more base will lead to a good increase in total costs of the airline as they need to start crew bases, catering in that city . It's not possible for a small airline to rapidly grow and connect every route which seems worth a flight .

I agree 100 percent with what you say, generally,......however, in the example I cited specifically, it makes no sense because Vistara already operates to those stations namely, Pune, BOM, DEL, Madras and Goa. So, for instance, a flight from Madras to Goa, wouldn’t involve creating a new station for Vistara.

For the example you state , Vistara'll have to start a crew base at Chennai/Goa which might not be worth unless the airline plans to increase ops from these cities rapidly in the short term .

Aah, now I get the point you were trying to make. I appreciate the perspective.

CollegeAviator wrote:

CollegeAviator wrote:

Vistara have added 2 more Boeing 737-800s to their fleet

VT-TGG is the ex VT-JFS, B737-800HGW with Boeing Sky Interior
VT-TGI is in the fleet as well, but not sure of which frame it used to be.

VT-TGI is the ex JFB.
And finally, the 10th B737 from 9W is VT-TGJ, ex JFC

With that, here is what Vistara's 737 fleet looks like, which may help in predicting newer intl destinations:
VT-TGA ex JFE (6.8 years old) delivered late May 2019, unsure if it's been repainted
VT-TGB ex JFH (6.3 years old) delivered late May 2019, unsure if it's been repainted
VT-TGC ex JFZ (4.9 years old) delivered mid June 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGD ex JBW (7.9 years old) delivered late May 2019, repainted (HGW w/seatback PTVs, but disabled)
VT-TGE ex JFL (6.1 years old) delivered late June 2019, unsure if repainted
VT-TGF ex JTA (4.8 years old) delivered mid June 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGG ex JFS (5.4 years old) delivered mid August 2019, pretty sure repainted (HGW)
VT-TGH ex JFT (5.3 years old) delivered late July 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGI ex JFB (7.1 years old) delivered early September 2019, repainted (HGW)
VT-TGJ ex JFC (7.1 years old) due (mid September 2019?), repainted (HGW)
Thanks to information from Planespotters

*All 737s are equipped with 12 seats in Business, 156 in Economy
*All 737s also have Boeing Sky Interior
*HGW planes are most likely to fly on intl routes (DEL/BOM-SIN, although this is changing to the A320neo anyway)

Excellent information and thanks for the research. With 3 new aircraft in last 4 weeks, I would expect a flurry of announcements regarding new Vistara flights.