Consolidated Vistara onboard experience thread
Jan 13, 2015, 4:46 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Delhi
Programs: Jet Privilege
Posts: 146
Consolidated Vistara onboard experience thread
I reached Mumbai’s glitzy new Terminal 2 at 4:30 pm for my Vistara Flight. Right now Vistara is the only domestic carrier using this terminal to push their “premium airline” tag.
If you are keen, and would like to know more about the Vistara Economy Experience, as well as the background to this flight, please read my earlier trip report.
Vistara 996
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Terminal 2 (BOM) – New Delhi IGI, Terminal 3 (DEL)
Saturday, January 10th
Departure: 17:56 hours (11 minutes late)
Arrival: 20:10 hours (10 minutes late)
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat: 6A
Vistara offers a convenient option of a return check-in which I used during the morning inbound flight. Basically passengers, who are returning with Vistara, within 48 hours of the original departure, can have the boarding pass for the return flight as well. This worked well for me and I requested my return boarding pass as well at Delhi T3.
I was able to pass the check-in counters at Mumbai T2 and move straight to the security area, as I already had my boarding pass, though I must mention that Vistara offers separate check-in counters for Premium Economy passengers.
Vistara, to their utter credit, has pre-empted other full service domestic carriers and started operations from Mumbai’s Terminal 2 while having the entire domestic departures area exclusively for them, till June-July 2015, when Air India and Jet Airways will also shift. This is a big coup for Vistara, as the feeling of exclusivity really draws down on passengers while traveling through T2 & seeing “Vistara Departures Only” signage. Apart from avoiding the mess and confusion of shifting here 6 months later, they have also secured a great terminal for exclusive use, which may influence even my future travel decisions.
After turning right, down the escalators, is the security area for domestic flights. Only two counters were open but I pretty much breezed through it within 3 odd minutes.
After crossing the information desk and another corridor on the right, the large expanse of Mumbai’s T2 gate area opens up. I have read reams and reams about the terminal but one realises the caliber of it all in flesh. It impresses and how. I realise this piece is supposed to be on Vistara only, but indulge me for a moment or couple of pictures. After all airports are vital cogs in the wheel of the entire travel process.
The entire area had plenty of natural light, loads of comfortable seating including sofas, and chairs. Did I mention that the whole terminal is a museum in itself? With 7000 art works on the walls by 1500 artists, GVK (airport operator) fittingly calls it “India’s largest public art program”.
This interactive musical water fountain was probably one of the more fun installations. As you put your hand through the water streams, it sounded like the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sargam of the Indian classical music. Some kids and their parents were going crazy over it
I reached Gate 87, the departure gate for my flight by 4:45 pm. I couldn’t see the aircraft, although the scheduled boarding time was mentioned as 5 pm. The gate area also had plenty of power ports, very important for the connected travellers of today.
Premium Economy passengers on Vistara, like most other airlines, don’t get access to lounges, and unfortunately, only the GVK operated Business Class lounge is accessible from this terminal. Other contract lounges, like Clipper, were not accessible as far as I was able to evaluate. The novelty of a brilliant new terminal, and the floor to ceiling views of the ramp kept me busy at the gate.
Our aircraft arrived at 5:12 pm. I must admit I wasn’t a big fan of the livery initially but it is definitely growing on me. I think I like it more every time I see it. Aircraft are anyways such a romantic piece of engineering, right?
Boarding commenced at 5:35 pm with a wrong announcement that the flight was for Ahmedabad, which was corrected after confused passengers asked the gate staff about it. The first call, as usual, was for Business Class passengers, and passengers travelling with infants. To my disappointment, the call for Premium Economy passengers never came, which I noticed during the morning flight to Mumbai as well. Remaining passengers queued up together and I was in my seat few minutes later.
Vistara A320 Premium Economy seats
As I settled into my seat 6A, a familiar sight from morning greeted me. Vistara currently does not offer any sort of IFE across all three of its classes, I certainly hope that changes soon as the current situation puts them in the league of LCCs, and that’s certainly not what they are aiming for. On the flight load aspect, this seemed like a full flight in economy and premium economy.
The Captain of the flight immediately came on PA to apologise for the delay, caused by late arrival of the incoming aircraft. I always chuckle when airlines offer that as a reason, its like saying that “the incoming aircraft was operated by a different company, and we couldn’t do much about it”. That of course is applicable to all airlines, not limited to Vistara.
He also informed us of the flight time and mentioned high winds may help us speed up our journey, may also cause turbulence. I appreciate when Captains give slightly more information to passengers than needed, gives me some food for thought as the plane taxies to the runway
We pushed back at 5:56 pm and as a premium economy perk, we were offered a hot towel. Another supposed perk of Premium Economy is a water bottle and packed juice service as a welcome beverage, which wasn’t served strangely, definitely not in my entire row, and the one adjacent. It seemed they wanted to hasten up the departure and forgot about it later.
After approximately 15 minutes of taxi, we lined up on the runway and took off. It was a comparatively clear day for Mumbai and the Sea-Link was visible during the ascent.
Vistara Premium Economy – Legroom
Vistara offers 33 inches of legroom in Premium Economy, which makes stretching your legs an easy affair. At 4.5 inches, the seat recline is also an inch more than the usual economy recline. Personally I don’t recline often, but those who like to, will probably appreciate the extra inch. Vistara also mentions about extra seat padding in Premium Economy, which I honestly did not feel or notice, especially considering I flew in economy earlier that morning. There’s also a personal coat hook on every seat in Economy and Premium Economy. The headrest of the seat is also height adjustable.
The meal service began at 6:31 pm, with two options of a Vegetarian Masala Kathi Roll or Chicken Pizza as the main dish. I chose Chicken Pizza, and my meal tray also had a Jhulmuri as a starter and Pina Colada (Pineapple based) as the dessert. I chose Orange soda as my drink with the meal.
Personally I liked the Jhulmuri starter as the tastiest course of the meal. I’m not sure being a Mumbai specialty whether it is served only in flights originating out of Mumbai or not. The first and the only time I have seen a Pizza served on a flight so far was my Iberia flight from Barcelona to Madrid. I really appreciate the intent behind this, to serve something that is not usual for Indian air passengers, however I found the base of the pizza slightly raw. I did the next best thing and ate the entire layer of cheese and chicken toppings, which were yummy in their own right I also think it is difficult to maintain the quality of a pizza for long after reheating it, but that’s just me.
On my morning flight, I took the exception to the fact that Vistara being a premium carrier was offering unbranded condiments. Fortunately, this flight had no such problem, in fact +1 to Vistara for serving a Swiss dark chocolate along with the meal. Unsure if that is a Premium Economy perk or given to everybody.
Passengers were also served Tea and Coffee after the meal. Around 7:28pm the Captain came on the PA to update us about our arrival times, temperature in New Delhi and apologise again for the delay in departure. It was Vistara’s first day of full operations, and I think most people would have let it slide because of that.
We made a smooth landing at 8:02 pm and were at our gate just 10 minutes behind schedule.
My final thoughts on Vistara’s Premium Economy Service are continued on my blog, with more details and pictures: www.vishal1mehra.com
If you are keen, and would like to know more about the Vistara Economy Experience, as well as the background to this flight, please read my earlier trip report.
Vistara 996
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Terminal 2 (BOM) – New Delhi IGI, Terminal 3 (DEL)
Saturday, January 10th
Departure: 17:56 hours (11 minutes late)
Arrival: 20:10 hours (10 minutes late)
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat: 6A
Vistara offers a convenient option of a return check-in which I used during the morning inbound flight. Basically passengers, who are returning with Vistara, within 48 hours of the original departure, can have the boarding pass for the return flight as well. This worked well for me and I requested my return boarding pass as well at Delhi T3.
I was able to pass the check-in counters at Mumbai T2 and move straight to the security area, as I already had my boarding pass, though I must mention that Vistara offers separate check-in counters for Premium Economy passengers.
Vistara, to their utter credit, has pre-empted other full service domestic carriers and started operations from Mumbai’s Terminal 2 while having the entire domestic departures area exclusively for them, till June-July 2015, when Air India and Jet Airways will also shift. This is a big coup for Vistara, as the feeling of exclusivity really draws down on passengers while traveling through T2 & seeing “Vistara Departures Only” signage. Apart from avoiding the mess and confusion of shifting here 6 months later, they have also secured a great terminal for exclusive use, which may influence even my future travel decisions.
After turning right, down the escalators, is the security area for domestic flights. Only two counters were open but I pretty much breezed through it within 3 odd minutes.
After crossing the information desk and another corridor on the right, the large expanse of Mumbai’s T2 gate area opens up. I have read reams and reams about the terminal but one realises the caliber of it all in flesh. It impresses and how. I realise this piece is supposed to be on Vistara only, but indulge me for a moment or couple of pictures. After all airports are vital cogs in the wheel of the entire travel process.
The entire area had plenty of natural light, loads of comfortable seating including sofas, and chairs. Did I mention that the whole terminal is a museum in itself? With 7000 art works on the walls by 1500 artists, GVK (airport operator) fittingly calls it “India’s largest public art program”.
This interactive musical water fountain was probably one of the more fun installations. As you put your hand through the water streams, it sounded like the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sargam of the Indian classical music. Some kids and their parents were going crazy over it
I reached Gate 87, the departure gate for my flight by 4:45 pm. I couldn’t see the aircraft, although the scheduled boarding time was mentioned as 5 pm. The gate area also had plenty of power ports, very important for the connected travellers of today.
Premium Economy passengers on Vistara, like most other airlines, don’t get access to lounges, and unfortunately, only the GVK operated Business Class lounge is accessible from this terminal. Other contract lounges, like Clipper, were not accessible as far as I was able to evaluate. The novelty of a brilliant new terminal, and the floor to ceiling views of the ramp kept me busy at the gate.
Our aircraft arrived at 5:12 pm. I must admit I wasn’t a big fan of the livery initially but it is definitely growing on me. I think I like it more every time I see it. Aircraft are anyways such a romantic piece of engineering, right?
Boarding commenced at 5:35 pm with a wrong announcement that the flight was for Ahmedabad, which was corrected after confused passengers asked the gate staff about it. The first call, as usual, was for Business Class passengers, and passengers travelling with infants. To my disappointment, the call for Premium Economy passengers never came, which I noticed during the morning flight to Mumbai as well. Remaining passengers queued up together and I was in my seat few minutes later.
Vistara A320 Premium Economy seats
As I settled into my seat 6A, a familiar sight from morning greeted me. Vistara currently does not offer any sort of IFE across all three of its classes, I certainly hope that changes soon as the current situation puts them in the league of LCCs, and that’s certainly not what they are aiming for. On the flight load aspect, this seemed like a full flight in economy and premium economy.
The Captain of the flight immediately came on PA to apologise for the delay, caused by late arrival of the incoming aircraft. I always chuckle when airlines offer that as a reason, its like saying that “the incoming aircraft was operated by a different company, and we couldn’t do much about it”. That of course is applicable to all airlines, not limited to Vistara.
He also informed us of the flight time and mentioned high winds may help us speed up our journey, may also cause turbulence. I appreciate when Captains give slightly more information to passengers than needed, gives me some food for thought as the plane taxies to the runway
We pushed back at 5:56 pm and as a premium economy perk, we were offered a hot towel. Another supposed perk of Premium Economy is a water bottle and packed juice service as a welcome beverage, which wasn’t served strangely, definitely not in my entire row, and the one adjacent. It seemed they wanted to hasten up the departure and forgot about it later.
After approximately 15 minutes of taxi, we lined up on the runway and took off. It was a comparatively clear day for Mumbai and the Sea-Link was visible during the ascent.
Vistara Premium Economy – Legroom
Vistara offers 33 inches of legroom in Premium Economy, which makes stretching your legs an easy affair. At 4.5 inches, the seat recline is also an inch more than the usual economy recline. Personally I don’t recline often, but those who like to, will probably appreciate the extra inch. Vistara also mentions about extra seat padding in Premium Economy, which I honestly did not feel or notice, especially considering I flew in economy earlier that morning. There’s also a personal coat hook on every seat in Economy and Premium Economy. The headrest of the seat is also height adjustable.
The meal service began at 6:31 pm, with two options of a Vegetarian Masala Kathi Roll or Chicken Pizza as the main dish. I chose Chicken Pizza, and my meal tray also had a Jhulmuri as a starter and Pina Colada (Pineapple based) as the dessert. I chose Orange soda as my drink with the meal.
Personally I liked the Jhulmuri starter as the tastiest course of the meal. I’m not sure being a Mumbai specialty whether it is served only in flights originating out of Mumbai or not. The first and the only time I have seen a Pizza served on a flight so far was my Iberia flight from Barcelona to Madrid. I really appreciate the intent behind this, to serve something that is not usual for Indian air passengers, however I found the base of the pizza slightly raw. I did the next best thing and ate the entire layer of cheese and chicken toppings, which were yummy in their own right
I also think it is difficult to maintain the quality of a pizza for long after reheating it, but that’s just me.On my morning flight, I took the exception to the fact that Vistara being a premium carrier was offering unbranded condiments. Fortunately, this flight had no such problem, in fact +1 to Vistara for serving a Swiss dark chocolate along with the meal. Unsure if that is a Premium Economy perk or given to everybody.
Passengers were also served Tea and Coffee after the meal. Around 7:28pm the Captain came on the PA to update us about our arrival times, temperature in New Delhi and apologise again for the delay in departure. It was Vistara’s first day of full operations, and I think most people would have let it slide because of that.
We made a smooth landing at 8:02 pm and were at our gate just 10 minutes behind schedule.
My final thoughts on Vistara’s Premium Economy Service are continued on my blog, with more details and pictures: www.vishal1mehra.com
Last edited by Vishal Mehra; Jan 13, 2015 at 4:51 pm Reason: For better formatting, I had to delete most images
Jan 13, 2015, 6:07 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,470
Apart from the reviewer's gushing comments, nothing that I have seen makes me want to dish out more money on Vistara than other carriers.
The so-called 'Premium Economy' seats look distinctly pedestrian to me with no hint of 'Premium'. Thin seats designed to cram in additional rows, horrible brown/beige colour scheme and of course no IFE. Thanks, I will save my money and fly 9W or AI.
PS. What exactly is 'Jhulmuri'? I can guess what 'jhalmuri' may be, but 'Jhulmuri' sounds disquietingly like cobwebs.
The so-called 'Premium Economy' seats look distinctly pedestrian to me with no hint of 'Premium'. Thin seats designed to cram in additional rows, horrible brown/beige colour scheme and of course no IFE. Thanks, I will save my money and fly 9W or AI.
PS. What exactly is 'Jhulmuri'? I can guess what 'jhalmuri' may be, but 'Jhulmuri' sounds disquietingly like cobwebs.
Jan 13, 2015, 11:06 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Bangalore, India
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Air India Star Gold, JetPrivilege, Marriott Silver, Accor Platinum, SPG,
Posts: 16
His conclusions
Vistara has a good cabin product – from it’s hard cabin to items like food, there is a definite effort to offer a quality product. Service warmth, hospitality and courtesy is high, but efficiency has to improve and quickly.
In economy class, Vistara holds a definitely edge over its competitors, and I would be willing to pay a small premium.
Vistara’s premium economy class lacks a value proposition as of now. Other than the three inches additional leg room it is almost identical to economy class, and with the plastic cutlery, inferior to competitors’ economy classes. I cannot see the airline commanding its present 100% premium over economy fares. Vistara has to offer a better differentiated product.
In economy class, Vistara holds a definitely edge over its competitors, and I would be willing to pay a small premium.
Vistara’s premium economy class lacks a value proposition as of now. Other than the three inches additional leg room it is almost identical to economy class, and with the plastic cutlery, inferior to competitors’ economy classes. I cannot see the airline commanding its present 100% premium over economy fares. Vistara has to offer a better differentiated product.
However a Vistara official told my son that over the next three to six months, Vistara expects the Y+ pricing to drop to around 20% premium, in which case the premium-product ratio will be aligned.
A very popular and famous snack from Bombay with puffed rice, mixed with tomatoes, onions, dry gram-flour strings, mixed with a spicy garlic and sweet-sour tamarind sauce. In Calcutta it is made slightly different and called "Jhaalmuri". Here they use mustard oil instead for the sauce which gives spice and pungency.
Vishal is from Delhi and Bengali chaat is more common there compared to Bombay chaat, hence his choice of terms. ^
Business class
Premium Economy
Economy
Meal - Leeks and prawn pie/quiche (Looked like a quiche to me, but airline claims pie.
Last edited by Develish; Jan 13, 2015 at 11:28 pm
Jan 14, 2015, 2:18 am
#4
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 160
How does this premium economy differ from the Exit Row / Front Row seats offered by other carriers at a slight booking premium (500/-) in terms of space ? Just because you get the same food in a tray vs box - will India customers pay extra ?
Jan 14, 2015, 6:36 am
#6
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Bangalore, India
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, Air India Star Gold, JetPrivilege, Marriott Silver, Accor Platinum, SPG,
Posts: 16
See the post just above this. I think the answers are coming through.
Jan 14, 2015, 10:33 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: BA Gold, AA Platinum, SQ Gold, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,582
I hate the words 'Premium Economy' on headrest cover, looks cheap to me.
I don't travel to India often now, but honestly, if I am NOT getting free Alcohol, I am not paying for PE or J short haul.
I don't travel to India often now, but honestly, if I am NOT getting free Alcohol, I am not paying for PE or J short haul.
Jan 16, 2015, 3:31 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Delhi
Programs: Jet Privilege
Posts: 146
Thank you folks
I have had few rounds of communication with the Vistara management since publishing both posts, and it seems they have taken all the feedback positively. Expect enhancements in the near future.
I have had few rounds of communication with the Vistara management since publishing both posts, and it seems they have taken all the feedback positively. Expect enhancements in the near future.
Jun 16, 2019, 10:28 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: No. California
Programs: AA ExPlat 4mil miles, Hilton Gold
Posts: 270
For tomorrow's flight the upgrade from Y to Y+ is available on PNQ-DEL for R1100 (approx $15) by bidding on the vistara site. While the benefits are minimal it is probably worth the small amount for the extra comfort.