Vistara cancels 14 int'l flights due to delay in delivery of B787 aircraft

Vistara has cancelled at least 14 flights connecting New Delhi with Frankfurt and Paris due to a delay in delivery of B787 aircraft, which it has leased from Irish lessor AerCap, Business Standard has learnt.

The B787 (also known as Dreamliner) aircraft was expected to be delivered by this time in October, but as it is still under refurbishment and maintenance processes, it will most likely be delivered some time in November, aviation industry executives said.

Vistara had on August 6 stated that it has leased a Dreamliner and therefore, it will operate six flights every week on the New Delhi-Frankfurt route from October 30, instead of the three weekly services currently. Moreover, the full-service carrier had said that it will operate five flights every week on the New Delhi-Paris route from October 30, instead of its two weekly flights currently. Accordingly, it opened bookings on these additional flights.

Since the leased plane has not been delivered yet, the airline has cancelled at least eight flights on the New Delhi-Frankfurt-New Delhi route and six flights on the New Delhi-Paris-New Delhi route between October 30 and November 6, the executives said.

In a statement on Tuesday, a Vistara spokesperson said: “We confirm that there has been a slight, unavoidable delay in the delivery of our third (leased) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, thereby impacting select bookings, of a few days, made for Vistara flights to/from Paris and Frankfurt.” AerCap did not immediately respond to queries.

 

“We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers. We are in touch with them to offer various options that suit them best. Simultaneously, we are also working closely with relevant stakeholders to bring the aircraft into operations as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added.

Vistara had bought six Dreamliners from Boeing in 2018 but has received only two from the American plane maker. The second Dreamliner was delivered in August 2020. Since then, it has been waiting for Boeing to deliver the remaining four Dreamliners to boost its international flight operations.

Therefore, earlier this year, it had to take a Dreamliner on lease for the first time. The executives said the leased Dreamliner is currently in Abu Dhabi.

Dreamliner is a wide-bodied aircraft with a bigger fuel tank that allows it to easily operate on long-haul international routes.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US aviation regulator, had in late 2020 told Boeing to make rectifications in Dreamliner’s production line before restarting the deliveries. Approximately three months back, the FAA allowed the American plane maker to restart the deliveries of Dreamliners. However, Boeing is yet to restart the deliveries of Dreamliners to Vistara.