What Is It Like to Fly on Vistara as a Passenger?

Many are asking how the merger with Air India will affect service, so what is it like to fly with Vistara?

I have always wanted to experience Vistara’s business class, and with news of their merger with Air India coming out I knew the time had come.

After a lot of searching on different travel aggregator sites for the cheapest ticket and finally I ended up paying Rs 33,914 (roughly around $415). This covered a flight from Delhi – Bengaluru, so let’s find out if it was worth the price tag.

Vistara: Delhi to Bengaluru

Flight Details

Flight Number – UK809
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 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 can check-in their bags at the counters located at the airport. They can get their boarding cards issued there. 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 section 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

Vistara Business class entitles you to lounge access at Delhi airport. Vistara gold and platinum members have a dedicated section with business class passenger at Encalm lounge.

It took roughly a minute or so to enter the lounge at Delhi. The food options were good enough and the lounge had empty seats. Usually lounges in India are overcrowded and finding a spot to sit inside is like a lottery!

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 non-veg meal with chicken and to my surprise I was told it wasn’t available. This is something I have never experienced on-board Vistara’s flight in either economy or premium economy, so I had to select 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 entire meal wasn’t served in one tray.

Main course was average for me – this could also be because of the fact that I am not a fan of salmon. But, as usual, the deserts blew my mind! Totally worth it.

Soon after dinner service, I ordered a coffee. Unlike other airlines in India, Vistara serves Starbucks freshly brewed coffee on-board its flight. This is offered for business class pax 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 you pay. The crew is always on its toes to assist you, and they have amazing food on-board.

One improvement on this trip would be the availability of food choices, as one would expect after paying such high fares. Maybe missing an 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.

This was my experience on-board their A320neo aircraft. Their A321 aircraft features lie-flat seat and the experience is even better on those aircraft, is what I have heard! So, my next review will be on-board their A321 business class product.