Vistara’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner completed the first special non-stop flight between Delhi (DEL), India, and London Heathrow (LHR), UK, on August 28, 2020.
The carrier’s barely six-month-old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registered VT-TSD) successfully landed in the UK’s capital after a nine-hour flight, according to flightradar24. Vistara, a Tata Sons subsidiary, plans to operate this special service three times a week until September 30, 2020.
Vistara is also planning to start limited flights under similar conditions to Paris and Frankfurt, the company said in a statement on August 18, 2020. “As the world starts opening up in a phased manner following an extended global lockdown, these special flights give us the privilege of facilitating travel between the two countries,” said Leslie Thng, CEO of Vistara, in a statement at that time.
Vistara announced special services to Europe 16 days after India signed the Air Transport Bubble Agreement with the UK, France, and Germany. The arrangement allowed commercial passenger services between the two countries when regular flights were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vistara owns two brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The first aircraft was delivered in February 2020, followed by the other in March of the same year. Both widebody aircraft were purchased for long-haul international operations. However, while international routes were unavailable due to pandemics, Vistara employed Dreamliners on the routes that were available. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which flew to London, previously had been employed for domestic services between Delhi (DEL) and Bengaluru (BLR) or Chennai (MAA).
The second Vistara’s Dreamliner (registered VT-TSE) ceased its US services on August 14, 2020. After returning home, the 787 continued domestic services between Delhi (DEL) and Bengaluru (BLR) or Amritsar (ATQ), following a similar pattern as its older sibling.