How does it Feel Travelling on the Vistara Premium Economy Class?

Vistara, a full-service airline, is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. The company was founded in 2013, but launched operations in January 2015. By the end of 2015, it had already flown about a million passengers on domestic routes. Currently, it holds close to 2 percent of the market share in the national aviation industry. Being a luxury carrier, it offers three cabin classes. It flies to 16 cities in India, using its fleet of Airbus A320-200s.

Travellers have the option to fly in Economy, Premium Economy or Business class. On its A320-200s, it offers 36 Premium Economy seats (6 rows of 3-3 arrangement) and 16 Business seats (four 2-2 rows) out of a total of 148. The remaining 96 can be booked by those, who want to travel in the Economy Class. It is the first airline to offer the Premium Economy cabin option in the country. Most of the carriers in the country do not give this travelling option to people. So, what is it that makes this cabin type so special?

Details

Booking air tickets for this class entitles people to have 20 kg check-in baggage, which is 5 kg more than what is allowed in the lower class. The hand luggage allowance, however, remains the same at 7 kg as per the prevailing government norms. Besides increased checked luggage limit, this also provides priority baggage handling at airports during departure and arrival. This means that there are fewer chances of loss or damage of luggage and travellers can get these ahead of others after landing.

Another associated benefit of travelling in this class is the facility of dedicated check-in counters at the airport. This saves people from standing in long queues for completing the formalities, getting tired and wasting time. This privilege extends all the way to the boarding queue, where passengers do not have to stand in the standard line, but in a separate one, meant for priority boarding.

Once on board, they would find that the seats are quite comfortable and reasonably spacious; also, these recline to 4.5 inches. This allows flyers to stretch to the fullest while seated, and relax and unwind. These also come with added cushioning and height-adjustable headrests, further adding to the comfort.

By booking an air ticket for these cabins, complimentary meals can also be enjoyed. A wide range of dishes is prepared by designated Vistara chefs. Beverages are also offered on board so that flyers can stay hydrated during the journey. Special meals are also provided for babies and children, vegetarian and non-vegetarian passengers, and for those, who have a medical condition. Any special meal request can be made preferably at the time of booking or a few hours before departure.

In order to avoid boredom and catch up with some news and interesting articles, newspapers and magazines are available on the journey in addition to the regular in-flight magazine. The carrier also provides wireless streaming of content on the personal electronic devices of passengers as part of its onboard entertainment system.

Meets Demand of Passengers

This cabin meets the demand of flyers, who want to travel with more comfort and enjoy special privileges like priority check-in and boarding, and baggage handling, besides higher baggage allowances. The ticket for travelling in comfortable seats with more leg space comes for just a little more money than the lowest option.

The launch of these seats has the potential to lead the carrier to new levels of success and earn it higher revenue.

Cheap Flights Offered by Indian Domestic Carriers

The first month of the year marks the onset of the lean season for air travel that goes till March in India. Airlines usually start offering deals and discounts to attract fliers and keep up the momentum of the market. In addition to this, Vistara also commenced its operations just a few days back that increased the competition in the market. As per reports, Vistara flight ticket is providing high value for money, and to offer a similar value, Air India also announced a seven-day sale. It is expected that Jet Airways may also make a similar announcement in the coming weeks. The demand for air travel is the lowest in the first sector as it falls between the festive season of November-December and the season of March-April.

Usually, carriers used to slash down the cost of reservation to attract new fliers, but with the arrival of Vistara, the focus has been shifted to retain the customer base. Operating under the company as a resultant of the joint venture between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Tata Group, this new carrier has created a whirl in the Indian aviation market. Travellers may have more options regarding cheap flights as the quantum of discounts can be higher in this season. The recently announced seven-day sale by Air India includes reservation at a discount of 15-50 per cent, from January 13-18. These are valid for flights scheduled between January 16 and April 30. It has been observed that heavy discounts on flights operating between Delhi-Mumbai will continue as Vistara is currently functioning on the same route.

The Jet Airways spokesperson said that this airline will also provide reservation at subsidised costs between January 13-18 for travel dates falling between January 16 and April 15. The cost of tickets for Mumbai-Delhi route is INR 1832, exclusive of taxes. This discount is driven by market competition for now, but it is expected that carriers may reduce the cost of reservation as an effect of the lower oil cost.