AirAsia has 150 Airbus A220 aircraft in a deal worth $19 billion – the largest single firm order ever placed for the jet.
The airline also becomes the launch customer for the aircraft’s new cabin configuration of 160 seats.
Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes, who had flown in to Quebec to sign the agreement, used the announcement to publicly push for a stretched version of the aircraft, commonly referred to as the A220-500, which would carry around 180-85 passengers, bringing it closer in capacity to smaller variants of the A320 family.
“We really hope that you will build the A220-500, which is 185 seats. That’s the aircraft we really want,” he said, addressing Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner directly. “If they build that aircraft, AirAsia will buy another 150 of these aircraft as well… This is a $19 billion