Engine glitch causes Vistara to ground first Boeing jet

Domestic carrier Vistara grounded its first Boeing aircraft Tuesday on account of engine issues, four days after joining the airline's fleet. Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, had on Monday inducted a Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet. The plane was earlier used by Jet Airways.

"There was an issue that required maintenance within a specified time period, we could have flown the aircraft perfectly fine for several more days. But decided to ground and take care of the issue while bookings were still low on the new flights than to defer," a source told the Livemint. The aircraft flew between Amritsar and Delhi on June 3 (Monday) before being removed from services.

A Vistara spokesperson further added that the airline is conducting a regular maintenance check on the Boeing aircraft according to the regulatory requirements as it wants to ensure safety in all aspects of operations. The plane is expected to be back in service by today (Wednesday).

Following Jet Airways' grounding which resulted in a significant capacity reduction in the domestic market, Vistara and SpiceJet inducted a few of the airline's aircraft.

Meanwhile, Vistara is also planning to launch international services in the second half of this year.

A joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, Vistara might also look at starting medium and long-haul flights, depending on approvals, amid the grounding of Jet Airways.

Also read: Vistara gets govt approval to fly international routes in second half of 2019

Also read: Jet Airways crisis: Ex-partners, rivals of airline scramble to fill India capacity void