Mubasher: Airbus and Boeing have won orders from Vistara, the Indian affiliate of Singapore Airlines, which is looking to buy 19 jets.

Through the $3.1 billion deal split between the two aircraft makers, Singapore Airlines seeks to start international flights and bolster local operations, the carrier said in a statement.

“This order is very important for Vistara because we always felt that international operations will give us a leverage on further improving our financial performance,” Leslie Thng, CEO of Vistara, said in a separate interview with Bloomberg.

Singapore Airlines will buy 13 of the A320neo and A321neo jets that have a list price starting at about $111 million each. It will also purchase six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners at about $282 million apiece.

“As a full-service model in an “extensively competitive” local market, Vistara is not yet profitable”, Thng added.