Airbus is near a landmark deal to sell planes value $23 billion (at list prices) to AirAsia, in keeping with people acquainted with the matter.
Malaysia Airlines, already the second-largest customer for upgraded Airbus A320 single-aisle jets, is considering ordering as much as 100 of the A321neo planes, in keeping with people acquainted with the discussions.
At the identical time, AirAsia is near securing an agreement to order an extra 34 wide-body A330neo aircraft, which might bring its total order book for the aircraft to 100.
The orders are still subject to final negotiations, said the people, who asked to not be identified because they were discussing private conversations.
While no agreement has been reached yet, the parties are close enough to an agreement that at the least a part of the deal may very well be announced next week on the Farnborough Air Show outside London, the most important aviation industry trade show of the 12 months, the people said.
Airbus declined to comment. AirAsia also declined to comment.
The purchase of the A321neo would give AirAsia a bonus over India’s Interglobe Aviation by becoming the most important customer for Airbus’ flagship single-aisle aircraft, taking the Malaysian carrier’s order book to 504 aircraft.
We have ordered 330, but to substantiate that, we’d like to be sure that that the worth is true. The performance is true. The engine is true. The PDP is true. And the performance of 330, 251 tons is true. If that is the airplane that we dreamed of and fought for, then we are able to order more. Or
— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) July 3, 2018
Even more necessary for Airbus, a call to accumulate more of the larger A330neo would reaffirm AirAsia’s commitment to the wide-body program within the face of stiff competition from Boeing’s fast-selling 787 Dreamliner. As negotiations heated up last week, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes fired an unconventional shot at Airbus with a tweet on his technique to a gathering on the manufacturer’s headquarters in Toulouse, France:
“We have ordered 330, but to substantiate that, we’d like to be sure that the worth is true. The performance is true. The engine is true,” Fernandes said on Twitter. “If that is the best aircraft that we dreamed of and fought for, then we are able to order more. Or else.”
The A321neo, the most important of the A320 family, has a listing price of $129.5 million, while the twin-aisle A330-900 has a listing price of $296.4 million. Airlines typically profit from significant discounts on list prices.
Meanwhile, a report by Malaysian day by day New Straits Times said the order from AirAsia could be a signal that relations between Airbus and its largest Asian customer had improved, although Airbus has signalled moves to guard profit margins.
Financiers speculate that AirAsia will push for discounts of as much as 60 percent for the A321neo and two-thirds for the A330neo. Standard industry discounts are closer to 50 percent.
Depending on the negotiations, the quantity transferred on the primary day with a brand new order with AirAsia could also be small.
“This deal is worthless in terms of the (initial) financial commitment,” the primary source told Reuters, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
Source: The Jakarta Post and New Straits Times
