DELHI- Vistara Airlines (UK) which is in the process of merging with Air India Group is ending its Delhi (DEL)-London Heathrow (LHR) flight route.
Currently, Vistara operates one daily flight between Delhi and London using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
Vistara Ending Delhi to London
Sean M, UK-based Airline Schedule Analyst shared this update on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The Tata Singapore Airlines (SQ) JV-backed carrier will operate its last DEL-LHR-DEL flight on November 10, 2024.
From November 11, 2024, you will no longer be able to book a Vistara DEL-LHR flight. However, Air India already operates flights on this route.
Following these changes, Air India will use the free-up and one of the most limited and expensive Heathrow slots.
Air India currently operates two daily flights with its flagship Airbus A350 and one 3x weekly flight between Delhi and London Heathrow using Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Flight Schedule
Now let’s see the timings of Vistara and Air India flights.
Vistara one daily DEL-LHR flight schedule:
- Flight UK17 departs from DEL at 3:10 PM and arrives in LHR at 8:20 PM local time after being airborne for around nine hours.
- The return flight UK18 departs LHR at 10:20 PM (turnaround time of two hours) and lands in DEL at 11:55 AM local time after being airborne for seven hours and 30 minutes.
While Air India’s two daily flights are AI 111 and AI 161 and one 3x weekly flight is operated as AI 165.
AI 161 departs DEL at 2:45 AM and arrives in LHR at 7:30. Perfect for early morning arrivals. The return flight AI 162 departs LHR at 9:45 AM and arrives in DEL at 10:50 PM local time.
Further, AI 111 departs DEL at 6:45 AM and lands at LHR at 11:30 AM local time. The return flight AI 112 departs LHR at 1:15 PM and arrives in DEL at 2:05 AM local time.
Now the 3x weekly flight AI 165 departs from DEL at 2:15 PM on Sundays or at 3:15 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and arrives in LHR at 7:00 PM on Sundays and 8:00 PM on Tue and Thu.
The return flight AI 166 departs LHR at 8:45 PM on Sun and 9:45 on Tue and Thu and arrives in DEL at 9:40 AM on Sun and 10:40 AM on Tue and Thu.
It looks like Air India will make changes to its 3x weekly flight that departs in the afternoon and arrives in LHR in the evening and makes it daily. The flight is closely aligned with Vistara’s daily flight timings.
Vistara Experience Continues Post-Merger
Air India integrates Vistara’s operations while preserving its distinctive service experience. Vistara flights will receive new Air India flight codes, prefixed with “2” for easy identification. Former Vistara flight UK 955 transforms to AI 2955 on airindia.com from November 12.
The merger maintains Vistara’s existing routes, schedules, and in-flight services, including menu selections and cutlery. The original Vistara crew continues their service on these aircraft.
Air India’s expanded network now connects to over 90 direct destinations and extends to 800 additional locations through codeshare and interline partnerships.
Club Vistara members transition to Air India’s Flying Returns program, which evolves into the new Maharaja Club.
It’s sad to see the Vistara Brand diminish but let’s look at the bigger picture, it will make Air India stronger and better.
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