Airbus lands biggest-ever deal for A320s

PARIS: Airbus said yesterday it has secured the biggest-ever order in its history to supply 430 of its mediumrange A320 family of aircraft to US investment firm Indigo Partners, at a catalogue price of US$49.5 billion (RM207.4 billion).

“I welcome this new sign of confidence by the major airline companies taking part in this unprecedented commercial deal,” Airbus’ COO Fabrice Bregier, told AFP at the Dubai Air Show.

“It’s an overwhelming success for Airbus and its A320 aircraft,” he said.

The order is for 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos, the revamped and more fuel efficient version of Airbus’ most popular single aisle passenger jet, the A320.

The final amount of the contract was not revealed, since it is customary for aircraft manufacturers to grant rebates on the list price, depending on the volume of the order.

The contract will more than double Airbus’ current order book for this year, which had stood at 288 planes at the end of October.

It will also place Airbus, with a total 718 orders this year, ahead of its archrival Boeing which has 605 orders.

It will bring the total number of orders for the A320 to more than 13,700 since the aircraft went into service in 1988, making it one of the best-selling planes in aviation history.

Airbus’ total order book should now increase to more than 7,000, giving it enough work for around nine years at the current rate of production.

Indigo Partners is a US investment firm founded by Bill Franke that specialises in the lease of planes to lowcost airlines.

The A320neo and A321neo jets feature new generation engines that use 15% less fuel compared to their peers.

The new planes will be leased to lowcost airlines, Frontier Airlines of the US, JetSMART of Chile, Volaris of Mexico, and Wizz Air of Hungary.