Prologue:
I was very much impressed the last time I flew in Vistara from Mumbai to
Kochi. I was hoping for, the return journey via an airliner, to be equally
rewarding
Flight details
Vistara UK 996
Kochi (COK) to Mumbai
(BOM)
Flight type – Airbus
320
Departure – 3:50 PM
Class Flown – Business
Seat – 1 D
Check in
When I reached for
check in, I was probably alone in business class queue and hence it was a quick
check in. They didn’t have anyone manning around the counter. So I had to ask for
to get someone to complete my check-in formalities. They asked me to use
default Earth Lounge at the airport which is curiously before security check.
Flight
Boarding started way
later than it was notified on boarding pass. This seemed normal when I enquired
about it from other passengers who fly via Vistara frequently. When I
boarded the flight, dramatically it was the same flight which I had taken from
Mumbai. Apparently the route of the flight is a loop- Delhi to Mumbai to Kochi
and back to Mumbai.
There were 8 Business
class seats on this flight.
Crew
The members of the
Crew didn’t do any introductions but they were gracious. I could speculate
instantly that they were neophytes and didn’t have much of experiences. I
was the only passenger in Business class but still had to make some effort to
connect to them.
Meal
Menu card looked fresh and different and it had 3 choices. As I am a vegetarian/vegan
– I could only opt for one out of 2 choices. Arab Mezze Platter or Pav Bhaji. This was an evening
flight and hence I was served with snacks only. I chose Mezze Platter and
it provided an authentic Arabic experience on the flight.
Presentation of food was wonderful and the food was delicious too.
I ordered chocolate
brownie sundae for dessert which was sugary.
They provided coconut
water along with the food.
Entertainment
This is probably the only flight which has an in-flight entertainment
system. They gave me a Samsung Tablet and a pair of Sony headphones which were
wonderful. The choices for entertainment were bare minimum but it justifies the
adage “something better than nothing” I hope they do add more content in next 6
months. Stewardess said they are planning to add 4 movies per month to their
collection. For the time being, they had only 2 movies – ‘Kingsman secret
service’ and “Pyaar ka punchnama part2”.
Sony headphones felt
very light and nice on my ears. They were comfortable to wear and could
basically filter out most of the cacophonous sound.
Conclusion:
I really loved the product and would definitely fly again. I don’t like pseudo-revenue
based tier system on this flight. However I definitely hope that they keep
introducing offers such as one class upgrade. I wish the crew were better but anyways,
I loved the product.