Flight Number: UK 814
Class: Business
Seat: 2F
Aircraft: Airbus A320neo
Aircraft Registration: VT-TNF
Aircraft Age: 3 years old
Origin: Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport
Destination: Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport
Flight Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes
Date: March 22nd, 2021 Video Link:https://youtu.be/SBrNM0QpbRMThis was the first leg of my trip from Bangalore to San Francisco via Delhi. The report and video for the second leg on United can be found here:
https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1459563I also took this exact flight in economy a few years ago. The report and video can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1411329&p=20954583#p20954583I arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before the flight and the airport was deserted. This is normally domestic rush hour at BLR and is usually crowded and it was eerie to see it this empty at this time. As a result, we were checked in to SFO and cleared security in around 10 minutes.
Access to the BLR Domestic Lounge was included with business class and was fairly crowded as it can be accessed with Priority Pass. There was an enclosed section for business passengers with a few sofas and a la carte service. The food selection was good and had live food stations although soft drinks were only available for purchase. After dinner in the lounge, we headed to the gate where hygiene kits with a mask, face shield, and sanitizer were handed out.
Business and Club Vistara gold members boarded first before premium economy and economy boarded. Surprisingly, premium economy and business were full while economy was only around half full. Onboard, there are 2 rows of business in a 2-2 configuration on the A320neo. The neo has a new mood lighting system which is set to purple during boarding which looks really cool. The seat itself was a standard domestic business class seat with a footrest, respectable recline and good legroom. There was also plenty of storage and the tray table was sturdy. Due to COVID-19, welcome drinks were shelved and bottled water was handed out instead. Taxi and takeoff was completed on time as we took off from the new runway (27R) at BLR due to resurfacing on the old one. We passed by the terminal 2 construction which was chugging along well.
After takeoff the meal was served with the options being a chicken or vegetarian option. I took the vegetarian opton but as I was the last one to have my order taken they ran out of business class veg meals so i settled for one from premium economy instead. It was good despite the setback and did not lack in quantity or quality. The main dish was rice with a paneer dish and potato cutlet with a beet salad, bread roll and butter on the sides. Dessert was rasmalai, an Indian milk-based dessert.
After dinner the FAs came around with starbucks coffee and some biscuits. I then explored the BYOD entertainment on my laptop which had a decent selection of tv shows and movies, adequate for a flight this length. The only downside was the moving map didn't work. I then reclined the seat and slept until descent.
We landed at around 12am in Delhi which is normally congested with international traffic around this time. However the ramps were empty and the only international flights were UA and AI flights to North America one of which I was flying to SFO later that day. As this was the last flight of the day for this A320neo, we docked at a remote gate and took a bus to the terminal although there was no separate bus for business class.
Although there was significant cost cutting due to the pandemic, Vistara delivers a solid busienss class product which is miles ahead of it's competitor, Air India, in terms of soft and hard product. The crew were not very interactive, probably due to covid, but during boarding and meals they were helpful and proactive. The food was good despite it being a premium economy meal and the seat was extremely comfortable for a 2.5 hour flight.
If given a chance I would definetely fly Vistara's busienss product again over Air India and I look forward to trying their premium economy product soon.
Thanks for reading I would love to hear your feedback in the comments!
Previous Trip Reports:Emirates Economy, DXB-GVA:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1462277United Business, DEL-SFO:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1459563Ethiopian Airlines, ADD-BOM:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1459065&p=22707905#p22707905Ethiopian Airlines, JRO-ADD:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1457941Ethiopian Airlines, ADD-JRO:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1450615Air India, BLR-MLE:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1444609&p=22153357#p22153357Ethiopian Airlines, BOM-ADD:https://www.airliners.net/forum/vviewtopic.php?f=9&t=1427719&p=21534293#p21534293
Jet Airways, SIN-BLR:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1374593&p=19838559#p19838559Cathay Pacific 747-400, HKG-HND:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1387423&p=20201661#p20201661Emirates, DXB-MUC:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1400239&p=20595919#p20595919Vistara, BLR-DEL:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1411329&p=20954583#p20954583