Vistara leases six aircraft from BOC Aviation

Indian carrier Vistara will lease two Airbus A320neos and four Boeing 737-800NGs from Singapore-based lessor BOC Aviation.

The neos are scheduled to be delivered by the second half of the year and the 737-800NGs—two of which are from BOC’s managed fleet—were to arrive by the end of May, BOC said.

The 737s will be the first Boeing aircraft for Vistara, which currently operates a fleet of 22 A320s, 20 of which are leased from BOC. The 737s are from now-defunct Jet Airways, according to Indian media reports, which also said former Jet crews would move to Vistara as part of its expansion efforts.

BOC also announced May 24 that Indian LCC SpiceJet is leasing three 737-800NGs, also reported to be ex-Jet Airways aircraft, which have already been delivered.

BOC head of investor relations Timothy Ross did not confirm that the aircraft were transferred from Jet’s portfolio, but told ATW they were not from its own order book.

He added that the void left by Jet Airways is responsible for the increased volume of lease transactions in India and not the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX 8. SpiceJet has 17 MAX 8s.