Vistara, a joint venture between India’s Tata group and
Singapore Airlines, is to launch thrice-weekly flights between Heathrow and
Mumbai from 16 January.
The flights will be operated using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners three
times a week in each direction on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The new services complement the airline’s flights between London and Delhi that launched in August.
The airline offers a three-class service with fully flat seats in business class, complementary
food and drink in all classes and free Wi-Fi internet connectivity.
Leslie Thing, Vistara’s CEO, said, “We are delighted at the
very positive response to our service between Delhi and London Heathrow which
has encouraged us to further strengthen the network by adding connectivity from
Mumbai as we see considerable demand between the two countries, and remain
optimistic about the future.”
Round-trip fares start from £439 in economy, £679 in premium
economy and £1,309 in business.
The airline connects 30 cities in India as well as five international
destinations: Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, Singapore and London. Before the
pandemic, the airline was operating more than 200 flights a day and has carried
more than 20 million passengers since it launched in 2015.
The services are permitted as part of one of the bilateral air
bubbles India is operating with various countries, including the UK, France, Germany
and the US.
Under these arrangements flights are allowed to operate for certain
categories of traveller, including diplomats, stranded UK and Indian nationals
and marine workers.