KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's low-cost carrier AirAsia signed agreements with global aircraft producer Airbus on Friday, covering the order of an additional 12 A330neo and 30 A321XLR aircraft for its long-haul service.
The latest agreement added the total order of A330neos from 66 to 78 for AirAsia X, AirAsia's long-haul affiliate.
"The introduction of the A321XLR provides AirAsia X with greater flexibility to better manage capacity on key routes as well as respond to seasonal demand," the company said in a statement.
"The A321XLR also gives AirAsia X an advantage when it comes to exploring opportunities to operate non-stop flights between Southeast Asia and secondary cities in countries like Australia, China and Japan," it said.
The deal is worth more than 5 billion U.S. dollars, reported Malaysia's state news agency Bernama.
Airbus agreed to expand its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) presence in Malaysia and establish the Airbus Malaysia Digital Initiative to enhance the competitiveness of the local aerospace sector, according to the statement.
AirAsia and Airbus also signed a memorandum of agreement (MoU) to support the development of the Malaysian aerospace industry, in support of the government's vision to make the country a regional aerospace hub.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
AirAsia has taken delivery of its first A330neo aircraft, to be operated by its long-haul affiliate AirAsia X Thailand earlier this month.
According to Airbus, the A321XLR is the next evolutionary step from the A321LR which responds to market needs for even more range and payload, while the A330neo is the new-generation aircraft building on the most popular wide-body A330's features and leveraging on A350 XWB technology.
