Vistara takes delivery of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Vistara has taken delivery of its first wide-body aircraft the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, becoming India's first airline to fly the 299-seater plane.

The new aircraft will depart Boeing's Everett delivery centre on Friday and arrive in India on Saturday.

"This aircraft delivery marks a new phase of growth for Vistara and unlocks our potential to become one of the world's best airlines," said Vistara's Chief Executive Officer Leslie Thng.

"The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is one of the world's most technologically advanced aircraft. We are delighted to add it to our growing fleet with a brand new wide-body product designed to global standards, hence offering the 'new feeling of flying' to our customers across the world."

The new aircraft is the first of six that Vistara purchased from Boeing. The second Vistara Dreamliner is currently on the production line and will be delivered soon.

Vistara's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner comes with 299 seats in three-class cabin configuration, giving customers a choice of business, premium economy and economy cabins.

The airline's first Boeing 787-9 aircraft will fly customers within India for a limited period of time from March before being deployed on long-haul international operations.

Vistara said it is poised to grow its fleet significantly by adding more than 40 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing by 2023, including Airbus A320neo, A321neo and Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner.

It connects 36 destinations, operates over 200 flights a day with a fleet of 32 Airbus A320, seven Boeing B737-800NG and one Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. It has flown more than 20 million customers since starting operations in 2015.