Vistara looks to lessors to fill long-haul gap amid 787 delays

Indian full-service airline Vistara is in talks with lessors about getting longhaul planes to cover a gap left by delays in Boeing 787 deliveries, Chief Executive, Vinod Kannan said. Vistara, owned by Singapore Airlines and India's Tata Group, is waiting to receive four aircraft from Boeing's 787 production line, but deliveries have been frozen globally since May 2021 due to quality-control shortcomings. To provide substitute capacity in the short term, Vistara is talking to lessors about renting 787s, Kannan said in an interview with Reuters. "There is enough availability (of airliners) in the market because there are still parts of the world where flying has not come back," he said, adding that the company is yet to make a final decision on whether to rent aircraft. Kannan said the market was too volatile to consider ordering new planes right now. But, in the longer run, Vistara could also consider buying Airbus A350s, he said. Vistara has about 50 aircraft, including two 787-9s received before the delivery suspension and a mix of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body airliners. It plans to take 20 more aircraft by the end of 2023, mostly A320s to be used domestically and for nearby international destinations. Expanding its footprint globally is a priority for Vistara, which began operations in 2015 but has not yet made a profit. India's domestic market is dominated by low-cost carriers, such as IndiGo. International flying offers stronger pricing.