Vistara may place order for 100 more aircrafts by June: CAPA report

Delhi-based airline currently has 13 Airbus A320 aircraft in its fleet

Domestic full service airline Vistara is likely to place order for around 100 aircraft, including 50 wide-body planes by the end of the current quarter, according to an industry report.

The Centre for Asia Pacific (CAPA), the Sydney-based aviation think-tank, in its report titled "Global Fleet and Financing Review 2017," also said that the airline is likely to opt for Boeing 777X for long haul operations.

Vistara is a joint venture, in which Tata Sons owns 51 per cent stake and the rest is with Singapore Airlines.

"Vistara is expected to be the next carrier to place a major order, of up to 100 aircraft before June, 2017, comprised of 50 narrow-bodies and 50 wide-bodies," CAPA said in its report today.

This assumes significance in the backdrop of Vistara mulling launching international operations from mid 2018.

The airline is expected to stick with Airbus for single-aisel equipment and is likely to opt for the 777X for long haul operations, the report said.

When contacted, a Vistara spokesperson said that the airline does not comment on market speculations.

"We don't comment on market speculations," the spokesperson said in response to a PTI query on the issue.

The Delhi-based airline currently has 13 Airbus A320 aircraft in the fleet and it plans to take another seven (A320 Neo) planes by June 2018. The first of the seven A320 Neo planes is expected to be delivered to the airline this month.

According to the report, the South Asia region is dominated by India, which accounts for 67 per cent of the total 742 aircraft in service.

Also, India accounts for as much as 96 per cent of the 917 aircraft in the region, CAPA said adding India has one of the highest order book in service ratios in the world.

Three of the eleven airlines -- Air India, IndiGo and Jet Airways - have a fleets of more than 100 aircraft.

Gurgaon-based Budget carrier IndiGo alone has placed orders for 430 planes (in two separate orders of 180 and 250) with Airbus, a few of them have already been delivered to the carrier, while the other budget carrier GoAir has also placed orders for 144 planes with the European aviation major.

Besides, Ajay Singh-promoted SpiceJet has also announced that it will purchase up to 205 new aircraft from Boeing with the order valued at Rs 1,50,000 crore.