Having received its first A321LR earlier in February, the first confirmed route for the three-class, 188-seater is Mumbai to Mauritius. Operating five weekly, it'll start on March 26th, the day airlines in the Northern Hemisphere shift to summer schedules. It is perhaps 70% or so of the real-world range of the A321LR rather than the theoretical range touted by the manufacturer. The schedule is as follows, with all times local:
Mumbai to Mauritius: UK241, 07:30-12:00 (6h block time); Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun, Sat
Mauritius to Mumbai: UK242, 13:00-21:00 (6h); Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun, Sat
Of course, Vistara may decide to fly it domestically first, but no details of this have been revealed as of February 10th. And it is possible that another route, perhaps Hong Kong or Nairobi, will be announced shortly and start at about the same time.
(The rough real-world A321LR is provided.)
Image: GCMap.
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Mauritius' biggest Asian market
Given how generations-old the Indian diaspora is in Mauritius, it seems that the market primarily revolves around Indian tourists to Mauritius and medical travel from Mauritius. India was the biggest point-of-sale, with around 60% of passengers booking from that country, according to booking data.
Approximately 119,000 passengers flew Mumbai-Mauritius-Mumbai in 2019, booking data reveals. About three-quarters of the passengers flew non-stop with Air Mauritius. In contrast, the rest flew indirectly, mainly with Air Seychelles but also via Dubai with Emirates and via Nairobi with Kenya Airways.
Mumbai was Mauritius's biggest market in Asia in pre-pandemic 2019. Although nearly half the size with 64,000 passengers, Delhi was second; might Vistara launch that market too, or flow passengers over Mumbai? The rest of the top 10 were Shanghai, Chennai, Hong Kong, Bengaluru, Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka, Singapore, and Bangkok.
Globally, Mumbai was Mauritius' eighth most popular market in 2019, behind Saint-Denis (Reunion), Johannesburg, Paris CDG, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Saint-Pierre (Reunion), and Antananarivo.
Air Mauritius has served Mumbai for a very long time. It continues to this day, with a year-round, six-weekly operation. It is now an A330neo route. Unlike Vistara, which operates during the day in both directions, Air Mauritius arrives in Mumbai at either 01:00 or 02:20 and leaves at either 02:45 or 04:05.
Where would you like Vistara to fly with its A321LRs? Let us know in the comment section.
