Airbus SE maintained its momentum on the second day of the Paris Air Show, locking in an order from Vietjet for 100 A321 narrowbody jets.
The low-cost Vietnamese airline has an option to buy 50 additional units of the highest-capacity single-aisle jet that Airbus makes, the companies said at a briefing at the Paris Air Show yesterday. Bloomberg News previously reported that VietJet was in talks for as many as 100 A321neos.
Based on Ishka estimates, the Vietjet memorandum of understanding is worth at least US$6.6 billion and as much as US$9.9 billion after customary industry discounts.
Photo: Reuters
VietJet has become a prolific buyer of Airbus jets, including a recent commitment to double its fleet of A330neo widebody planes to 40 units for long-haul expansion.
With yesterday’s announcement, the budget carrier’s order backlog stretches to almost 500 planes. However, the deal comes amid a UK legal tussle with an aircraft lessor as VietJet refuses to pay US$180 million in line with a court order, claiming it’s in financial difficulties.
On Monday, Airbus kicked off the Paris Air Show with orders from two Saudi Arabian customers valued at as much as US$17 billion. The planemaker also landed a major purchase from Poland’s LOT Polish Airlines.
In contrast to Airbus’s commercial activity at the show, Boeing Co has scaled back its presence at the event following a crash involving one of its jets in India last week. Boeing chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg called off his attendance, and the US company hasn’t disclosed any new orders at the expo.
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