New Delhi: Vistara on Monday decided to add 50 Airbus A320neo narrow-body planes to its fleet of 21 aircraft.

The Gurgaon-based full service airline, floated by the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, has signed a letter of intent for 13 A320neo aircraft and has committed itself to another 37 A320neo family planes from lessors. The combined agreements would add 50 A320neo planes to Vistara's fleet. The engine selection for Vistara's latest order is believed to be Leap CFM.

Airbus and Vistara signed their deal at Farnborough, where aircraft manufacturers are showcasing products at an international air show.

The list price value of 50 A320neo planes is about $5.5 billion and the aircraft is popular with airlines around the world. Over 100 customers have ordered some 6,100 planes so far, Airbus said.

The A320neos, where the neo stands for a new engine option, feature a single-aisle cabin. Airbus claims its A320neo family incorporates the very latest technology, including new generation sharklets that, together with the engines, deliver more than 15 per cent fuel and carbon dioxide savings from day one and 20 per cent by 2020.

India is among the largest markets for Airbus's A320neo planes with its single biggest order so far being 250 Airbus A320neos in 2014 from Interglobe Aviation, the company that runs IndiGo.

Vistara has plans to connect Sri Lanka and Maldives from Delhi and Thailand from Delhi and Calcutta before October this year. Sources said Vistara has already applied to the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) for route rights and permission to launch flights to these destinations.

By March next year, Vistara is expected to launch services to Dhaka, Kuwait, Riyadh/Jeddah from Delhi and to Singapore from either Mumbai or Pune. Sources expect these flights, all within 5 hours flying time from India, to be handled by Airbus aircraft either bought or rented.