AirAsia, the region's biggest discount airline, unveiled an order for 100 additional Airbus A320 jets, as the carrier expands to fend off competition before being removed from Malaysia's benchmark stock index.
British Prime Minister David Cameron joined AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes at Airbus' wing-manufacturing facility in Broughton, Wales, for the announcement of the contract, valued at US$9.4 billion at list price.
AirAsia, whose shares have fallen 29 per cent this year, is Airbus' biggest customer for single-aisle aircraft worldwide. The airline ordered 200 A320neo aircraft valued at US$18 billion at the Paris Air Show last year. Airbus had already booked the latest order in its tally last month, without disclosing the customer.
"This order is primarily about expansion," Fernandes said. "Business has been very strong in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, coupled with very robust demand out of China and India."
The airline should have no trouble implementing the new order amid the growth in the regions that AirAsia served, said Arnaud Bouchet, an analyst with BNP Paribas in Singapore.