AirAsia close to announcing adjustment to Airbus plane orders

PARIS/SINGAPORE: AirAsia Group Bhd plans to announce an adjustment to its large order book for Airbus airliners on Friday, confirming at least part of its order for A330neos while making room for the A321XLR model, two people familiar with the matter said.

Airbus has been in talks for months to sell the latest addition to its narrowbody fleet, the long-range A321XLR, to its largest Asian customer in a move widely expected to lead to a restructuring of AirAsia's order for larger A330neo jets.

AirAsia's long-haul arm AirAsia X Bhd last year placed an order for 34 A330neos but it was never finalised in the Airbus order book.

The Malaysian carrier later raised the prospect of switching some of the widebodies to narrowbody models better suited for smaller markets.