Vistara (UK, Delhi International) has accelerated the delivery of aircraft in a bid to bring forward its planned international debut to the first half of next year.

Vistara's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Phee Teik Yeoh, told a press conference in Delhi this week that the full-service carrier would reach the twenty aircraft threshold in March next year as opposed to the originally envisaged June.

"March 2018 is when we will be able to apply for a permit to fly abroad," he was quoted by The Hindu newspaper.

Vistara currently operates sixteen aircraft - thirteen A320-200s and three A320neo - on flights that cover twenty destinations across India. According to Phee, agreements have been reached with lessors to deliver a further two A320s beyond the planned twenty, in May and June next year respectively. No plans for the acquisition of widebody aircraft have yet been made public.

“If I can get a widebody, then I can go a bit further, but otherwise theoretically, with my 21st and 22nd plane, I can deploy it regionally (West Asia, South East Asia). What is my 23rd aircraft, nobody knows,” he said.