 "Vistara")
Vistara will reconfigure its Airbus A320 aircraft reducing the premium class seating and increasing overall number of seats from 148 to 158 seats.
The changes are being carried in view of poor demand for business and premium economy seating on certain routes in the network and the airline management is hopeful that the changes are "better aligned to market demand and customer needs."
Currently Vistara Airbus A320 aircraft have a configuration of 16 business class seats +36 premium economy seats and +96 economy class seats.
Under the new configuration business class seats are being halved to 8 while premium economy seats will be reduced to 24. The economy seating will increase to 126 and thus overall number of seats will increase to 158 seats.
The reconfiguration exercise will be completed in two phases in April and July 2016. The first retrofitted aircraft will be deployed between Delhi and Hyderabad from April 2016, followed by other routes which will be announced in due course.
All nine aircraft are expected to be reconfigured by 15 July 2016. Future new aircraft deliveries, the first of which is expected in Q2 of CY2016, will be also have the revised seating configuration.
Commenting on the airline's new configuration, Vistara CEO, Phee Teik Yeoh said, "The change in our cabin configuration is a result of extensive research of the changing market environment and customer expectations. Being a young and nimble airline, we were able to adjust quickly to meet the evolving needs of the market and our customers. We remain committed to our pioneering three class product offering and will continue to provide a personalised and differentiated flying experience to all our customers."
