Airbus finalizes record 250-jet order for its A320neo

Airbus finalized a blockbuster order from Indian budget carrier IndiGo for 250 A320neo jets, the European jetmaker announced Monday.

IndiGo and Airbus agreed to a preliminary order for the jets last year, but the deal has now been firmed up. The deal is a whopper for Airbus, which says the IndiGo order is its largest ever by number of planes. The order would be worth $26 billion at list prices, though big manufacturers Airbus and Boeing typically offer significant discounts to large airline customers.

"It fills us with pride that IndiGo, India's largest airline and one of the early launch customers for the A320neo, is coming back for more of our benchmark aircraft," Airbus sales chief John Leahy says in a statement. "This order confirms the A320 Family as the airliner of choice in the most dynamic aviation growth markets."

The order would cement IndiGo as one of the world's largest operators of Airbus' A320 family of narrow-body jets.

Bloomberg News writes "IndiGo ordered 180 planes worth $15 billion from Airbus (in January 2011), at the time the biggest order in commercial aviation history, as it builds toward its goal of a 1,000-jet fleet. The carrier has taken delivery of more than 100 planes from that order so far."

And Reuters adds the "deal helps extend Airbus's lead against arch-rival Boeing in orders for the fast-growing upgraded narrow-body aircraft segment." Airbus' A320neo – an upgraded next-generation model of its A320 – competes against's Boeing's similarly updated version of its 737, the 737 MAX.

Airbus has now secured 4,100 orders for its A320neo family of jets while Boeing's tally for its 737 MAX stands at about 2,830, according to Reuters.

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