AirAsia inks Airbus deal

AirAsia inks Airbus deal

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia has inked a contract to buy 60 new Airbus aircraft, with an option to purchase another 40 A320 jets as part of its regional expansion, a report said on Sunday.

With the order and option commitment, AirAsia in a statement to Bernama news agency said it had become the single largest customer for Airbus in the Asia-Pacific region.

The airline in December said it would buy 40 Airbus aircraft and exercise an option to buy another 40 A320 jets to maintain its position as Asia's leading budget airline. In February, it said it would buy an additional 20 new aircraft.

AirAsia said it decided to increase the Airbus order after the rollout and the success of its Indonesian operations, PT AWAIR International (AWAIR).

"Within three months of its operations, AWAIR has carried over 120,000 guests and introduced flights to five domestic destinations in Indonesia," it said. -- AFP