Airbus discussing blockbuster sale of US$6bil worth of planes to AirAsia

Brisk sales: An Airbus A350 aircraft flies in formation with Britain’s Red Arrows flying display team at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain. Airbus SE kicked off its sales campaign at this year’s biggest air show by announcing US9.2bil of orders from Asian carriers. — Reuters See page 2

LONDON: Airbus SE kicked off its sales campaign at this year’s biggest air show by announcing US$9.2bil of orders from Asian carriers that are augmenting their fleets to meet surging demand for air travel in the region.

Taiwanese startup StarLux Airlines said it is buying 12 A350-1000 aircraft and five of the smaller A350-900s in a deal valued at US$6bil at list prices that exclude customary discounts. Sichuan Airlines Corp will purchase 10 of the widebody planes. The A350-900 carries a tag of US$317.4mil apiece, valuing the mainland carrier’s order at US$3.2bil.