Herald staff
AirAsia, a low-cost carrier in Asia, has placed an order for 100 Airbus A320 aircraft.
The order includes 64 A320 new engine option, or A320neo, aircraft and 36 of Airbus’ existing A320 jets.
The contract reaffirms AirAsia’s position as the largest A320 customer. Altogether, AirAsia has ordered 475 single aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320neo jets and 211 of the current version of the A320. Airbus already has delivered more than 100 A320s to the airline.
The order was announced during a visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron to the Airbus wing manufacturing facility at Broughton in the United Kingdom.
“AirAsia is one of the great success stories of recent years in the airline business,” Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus, said in a statement. “The repeated confidence the airline places in the A320 is a clear endorsement of the reliability, efficiency and unbeatable operating economics offered by the world’s most modern single aisle product line.”
Airbus’ A320 competes against the Boeing Co.’s 737 aircraft. Both jet maker’s have launched updated, re-engined versions of their single-aisle aircraft in recent years. The two have wrangled publicly in magazine advertisements about one another’s jet performance claims.
