Airbus takes order for 255 A321s at Dubai Airshow

Airbus takes order for 255 A321s at Dubai Airshow

DUBAI: Airbus took a mega-order for 255 single-aisle A321 aircraft yesterday, the European plane-maker said in a statement, on the first day of a major air show in Dubai. It said the order came from Wizz Air, Frontier, Volaris and JetSMART-all from US company Indigo Partners-for a total value of more than $33 billion, according to the latest list price published by Airbus in 2018.

The total cost of the order was not disclosed, but list rates are rarely applied to large deliveries. Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air will receive 102 aircraft, American Frontier Airlines will receive 91, while 39 will go to Mexico’s Volaris and 23 to Chilean JetSMART.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said that because the four companies fall under the same aviation-focused equity firm, it allowed for a large order and for an attractive price, adding: “It’s a give and take situation.” Deliveries are set to begin in 2025. The embattled aviation industry flocked to the Dubai Airshow yesterday as it emerges from coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions and faces pressure to reduce its impact on climate change.

The five-day event in the United Arab Emirates is the industry’s first large gathering since COVID-19 clipped the sector’s wings last year, when