I have always wanted to experience Vistara’s business class, and with news of their merger with Air India coming out told me the time had come.
After a lot of searching on different travel aggregator sites for the cheapest ticket, I finally ended up paying Rs 33,914 (Roughly around $415) for a flight from Delhi – Bengaluru.
So, let’s find out if it was worth the price tag! AviationSource writer Gaurav Gowda reports.
Vistara – Delhi to Bengaluru
Flight Details:
- Flight Number – UK 809
- Departure Airport – Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi)
- Arrival Airport – Kempegowda International Airport (Bengaluru)
- Registration – VT-TNY, 3.2 Years old during the time of flight
- Aircraft Type – Airbus A320neo
Pre-Check-in Experience
Vistara has a decent application/website which is bug free and one can complete their Check-in hassle free.
I had pre-selected my seat at the time of booking, as I did not want to take any chance of missing out on window seat! And to my surprise during check-in, I found out that the Business Class was full for this flight.
Arrival at Delhi Airport
New Delhi airport is well connected to public transport, in fact it is has the only express metro line in the country which runs from airport to city centre.
One unique thing about this metro service is that passengers flying with airlines like Vistara, Air India and Air India express (I might have missed out on other airlines included in this service) can check-In their bags at the counters located at the airport and can get their boarding cards issued there
Please note, however, that this facility is available for passengers arriving 2 hours before their domestic flight.
I travelled to airport by cab as the place where I was put was far away from any metro and did not want to switch 2-3 metro lines.
Check-in at Delhi Airport
As expected, Vistara had dedicated counters for business class passengers, and it took me only around 5 minutes to complete the process.
Security Check at Delhi Airport
Delhi airport is known for its never-ending security check line which easily takes 20-25 mins on an average.
Like any other major airport, they have separate sector for business class and first-class passengers, so once again it took me hardly 5 minutes as I was the only one there.
So far, my expectations were met, and I was enjoying the special privilege.
Lounge at Delhi Airport
Now this is where I was slightly surprised to know that the newly opened lounge in T3 doesn’t accept business class passengers of Vistara as they had no tie up!
Apparently Vistara has tied up with some restaurants after security check and Vistara Gold/Platinum club members and business class members can access it free of charge.
Now, once I reached the said restaurant, I was surprised to learn that unlike traditional lounge you do not get to order and select what you want.
They had a pre-set menu, and one could select on desert one main course and one drink (no alcoholic beverages) with it. The food was average, and this experience left me with mixed feelings.
I mean, despite paying such high fares, the airline couldn’t even provide its passengers with a decent lounge.
Hoping that maybe my on-board experience would be worth it, I decided to walk towards my gate.
Boarding Experience
As expected, I had priority boarding and soon after taking our seat we were served with welcome drinks and a menu to select our meal.
The Seat
Vistara has Business class with 2-2 configuration and of course with ample of leg space it was as comfortable as it could get. Though I definitely missed the mobile stand present at the back of seats in their economy class.
In-flight Service
Soon after take-off, the cabin crew started meal service. I wanted to have the non-vegetarian meal with chicken and to my surprise I was told it wasn’t available.
Now this is something I have never experienced on-board Vistara’s flight in either economy or premium economy, so I had selected Salmon with Japanese rice.
First, we were served Tomato soup with a choice of fresh bread, which was very delicious. The main course was served after and I really loved that all the meal wasn’t served in one tray and they did make use of their elegant cutlery.
Main course was average for me, but as usual the desserts blew my mind! Totally worth it. Soon after dinner service, I ordered for a coffee and unlike other airlines in India, Vistara serves Starbucks freshly brewed coffee on-board its flight for business class passengers and Premium economy class.
Arrival at Bengaluru
We arrived after a delay of nearly 15 minutes due to congestion at Bengaluru International airport.
Conclusion
Having flown all the classes on-board Vistara I can say with certainty that yes – they are worth the money that you pay.
The crew is always on its toes and ready to assist you, and they have amazing food on-board. One improvement in this trip would be the increased availability of food choices, as one would expect after paying such high fares.
And perhaps missing and IFE device is also a drawback, as I had to use my personal device to connect to their Wi-Fi and stream content from their IFE to watch content.
