Airbus lands big orders for A320

Here’s a report from MarketWatch on some big orders for Airbus.

Europe’s Airbus has received big orders from two budget airlines in Asia for its A320 single-aisle aircraft, it was announced Thursday, as the aerospace industry gears up for next week’s Paris Air Show.

Cebu Pacific of the Philippines said Thursday it has ordered 30 A321 Neo aircraft and also exercised existing options for seven more standard A320s. The order at list price is valued at approximately $3.8 billion.

Also Thursday, Indian low-cost airline Go Air said it has ordered 72 A320 Neo planes worth $7.2 billion.

Rahul Deans, head of marketing at Go Air, said the orders are firm and deliveries will start in 2015. The airline may take up to 15 planes each year.

“These aircraft will give us a further competitive advantage of up to 15 percent on efficiency, primarily gained from a much improved fuel burn,” said Jeh Wadia, managing director at Go Air at a news conference in Mumbai.

Go Air’s total order with Airbus is now 92 aircraft worth $9.6 billion.

The A321 Neo is the largest model in Airbus’ recently launched and more fuel efficient A320 Neo series, which incorporates new engines and large wing-tip devices called sharklets.