Vistara Steps Up To Fill The Void: May Induct Jet’s Grounded 747s; Offer Jobs To Pilots, Flight Crew

Domestic airliner Vistara may induct some of Jet Airways’s Boeing 737’s into their fleet and may also offer jobs to a few Jet’s pilots, Business Standard reports.

The airline also initiated walk-in interviews to attract cabin crew of the grounded airline on 29 April in Gurgaon and Mumbai.

Vistara, which is a Singapore Airlines and Tata joint venture, currently has Airbus A320 in their narrow-body fleet. The airlines have also placed an order for six Boeing 787 Dreamliner 787-9 for its wide-body fleet for long-haul routes. The planes are expected to be delivered by 2020.

According to travel website Yatra.com, Jet's grounding has had a huge impact on air fares with inter-city air fares to major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata soaring more than 20 per cent in May and June.

“The recent reduction in capacity has inconvenienced travellers, especially in the full-service segment. We will continue to grow our network to meet market demand,” said Vistara in a statement.

If Vistara introduces the B737s, it would follow Air India to have a mixed fleet of narrow-body Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Further, Vistara would also capture slots freed by Jet airways suspension at the busy Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai airports.