AirAsia X to buy 50 A330-900neo jets

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia X has signed a deal with Airbus to purchase 50 A330-900neo aircraft, the latest version of best-selling widebody.
In a statement yesterday, the airline said AirAsia X will be one of the first operators of the aircraft, with deliveries to the carrier scheduled to begin in 2018.
It said the latest memorandum of understanding from AirAsia X further consolidates the position of the AirAsia Group as one of Airbus's largest airline customers in the world.
In total the group has ordered 536 Airbus aircraft, excluding the MOU.
"These aircraft are being planned as part of the company's future fleet and hub expansion, as well as replacement aircraft from the existing fleet and orders, as the company's existing aircraft will start reaching the 12-year age from 2020," AirAsia X said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
The airline said the A330-800neo and the A330-900neo are two new members of the Airbus Widebody Family launched in July 2014 with first deliveries scheduled to start in Q4 2017.
It said the A330neo incorporates latest generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, aerodynamic nhancements and new cabin features.
The A330neo is claimed to be able to reduce fuel consumption by 14% per seat, making it the most cost efficient, medium range widebody aircraft on the market.
"We have been encouraging Airbus to launch this new version of the A330 for some time now," co-founder and director of AirAsia X Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
"I am pleased that they are offering this choice and bringing us the aircraft we truly need to develop further our low cost long haul model. We are 100% sure that the A330neo will be quite unbeatable in its size category and we look forward to enabling more people to fly further more often aboard this great aircraft," he added.