On January 9, 2024, Vistara announced it will launch flights between Mumbai and Paris in March 2024, expanding its footprint in Europe. It will be the airline’s second route to Paris as it already serves the French capital from Delhi.
Continue reading to learn more.
Vistara’s Upcoming Mumbai – Paris Route
Vistara plans to operate five weekly flights between Mumbai and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport starting on March 28, 2024. The flights will operate as follows (with the schedules on March 28, 2024, and March 30, 2024, varying slightly):
- UK23 / Mumbai – Paris CDG / 2:05PM – 8:10PM / Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat
- UK24 / Paris CDG – Mumbai / 10:10PM – 10:35AM / Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat
The sole widebody aircraft in Vistara’s fleet – the 787-9 – will be deployed on the route. The airline operates six 787s (and has an extra one on order) in two different configurations. While one seats a total of 292 passengers, the other seats a total of 299 passengers.
Vistara 787s have staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, premium economy in a 2-3-2 layout, and economy class in a 3-3-3 layout.
The Mumbai – Paris CDG route is currently also operated by SkyTeam member Air France, which flies between the two cities at least once a day (twice on some days).
Vistara’s Expanding Presence in Europe and Growing Mumbai Hub
The new route will be Vistara’s second route to Paris as since November 2021, the airline has been serving the city five times a week from Delhi. It will be the airline’s third long-haul route from Mumbai.
The airline, which is a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines already connects Mumbai with two other long-haul destinations – London (4x week) and Frankfurt (5x week). Vistara’s CEO Vinod Kannan noted, “The addition of this much-awaited connection is in line with our strategy to position Mumbai as a vital hub for international travel.”
It also serves the same two destinations from Delhi – London daily and Frankfurt six times a week.
Vistara is expected to be merged with Air India, which itself was acquired by Tata in 2022, as soon as the required approvals are granted. Considering that there is some overlap between the two airlines’ European networks, it will be interesting to see what Air India’s European schedule will be like post-merger.
Currently, Air India flies to London from Delhi over 14 times a week and from Mumbai twice a day. It also flies between Delhi and Frankfurt daily.
Summary
Vistara announced it will be expanding its presence in Paris by launching five weekly flights from Mumbai on March 28, 2024. With that, the airline will serve the French capital ten times a week – it already operates five weekly flights from Delhi.
The new route will be the airline’s sixth route to Europe. It also flies to Frankfurt and London from both Delhi and Mumbai.
Some of its European network overlaps with that of Air India – an airline it is expected to be merged with.
