By Mauro Orru

Airbus secured an order from AirAsia for up to 70 A321XLR planes in a deal valued at $12.25 billion, as the group seeks to expand its network of narrow-body aircraft to serve long-range routes into Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus, covering 50 jets with options for 20 more of the single-aisle aircraft that can carry up to 244 passengers on non-stop flights for 11 hours. While the deal is valued at $12.25 billion, buyers typically receive steep discounts for big orders.

The announcement comes nearly a month after Airbus bagged large orders at the Paris Air Show, underscoring strong demand for planes as airlines continue to expand capacity.

The European plane maker is forecasting global demand for more than 43,000 passenger and freighter aircraft between 2025 and 2044, saying single-aisle planes would account for the bulk of new passenger-aircraft demand over the next two decades.

LOT Polish Airlines ordered 20 A220-100 and 20 A220-300 narrow-body aircraft during the annual trade event, while Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Air ordered 25 A350-1000 wide-body aircraft. Airbus also signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietjet for a new order of 100 single-aisle A321neo aircraft, with potential for 50 more.

Boeing, for its part, hasn't announced major orders during the event, which came a week after the crash of an Air India flight to London operated on a Boeing 787-8 jet. Investigators are working to establish the cause of the crash.

However, the U.S. jet maker hasn't missed out on big orders earlier in the year. Boeing and GE Aerospace bagged a $96 billion order from Qatar Airways for up to 210 planes during President Trump's trip to the Middle East in May.

AirAsia said the A321XLRs, expected to be delivered from 2028 through 2032, would help it expand its long-haul network out of hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok and better serve long-range routes into Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The company is aiming to carry 150 million passengers annually by the end of the decade.

Tony Fernandes, chief executive of Capital A, the Malaysian multinational that controls AirAsia, said he wanted to make the airline the world's first low-cost network carrier. "This is about exponential growth, connecting geographies beyond Asean, and making flying even more democratic," he said.

Fernandes signed the agreement in Paris with Christian Scherer, chief executive of Airbus's commercial aircraft business.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 04, 2025 12:56 ET (16:56 GMT)

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