AirAsia thinks about the Airbus double order but how much will it pay?

FARNBOROUGH, England: AirAsia discusses possible purchase of 100 Airbus A321neo aircraft as CEO of the company, Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, and Airbus is embarking on parallel negotiations for an expanded order of larger A330neo jets, according to sources from # 39; industry.

Fernandes could attend this week's Farnborough Air Show, where both o end a series of difficult relationships and accept all or part of a complex set of fuselage line aircraft orders. wide and narrow-body, according to two sources.

However, it is still unclear how much fresh money The transaction, if it were completed, would put in the coffers of Airbus while the low-cost carrier juggles with existing orders and leads to a difficult negotiation on prices and the size of deposits, according to one of the sources

number of conversions or "attrition" between existing orders. AirAsia has ordered 600 aircraft, two-thirds of which are yet to be delivered.

Airbus declined to comment. AirAsia could not be contacted

Two sources said that AirAsia could place an order for 100 A321neo single-aisle aircraft worth US $ 13 billion at list prices, as the company said. 39, reported Bloomberg News.

] A third source suggested that it could be an upgrade of smaller models, which could trigger others. orders. None of the sources, who are aware of the case, have agreed to be quoted in confidential interviews

. The range of options underscores the complexity of AirAsia's portfolio as it expands. But despite the attractiveness of an order of 100 aircraft, all eyes are turned to AirAsia to confirm the confirmation of the A330neo, as there is no problem selling single aisles more small.

AirAsia, the largest budget carrier in Asia, sends mixed signals. months before confirming its previous deal for 66 A330neo upgraded – seen from afar by Boeing Co, which hopes to replace the order by its 787 Dreamliner.

Delegates say that Airbus needs a marketing boost for its A330neo and would like Indeed, the loss of the A330neo's biggest buyer could cause bankers to toughen up their financing terms the same plane for other airlines and thus further damage sales.

However, sources said that relations between the companies had cooled as a result of recent changes in Airbus management.

An AirAsia order would signal that the links between Airbus and its largest Asian cus However, Airbus has announced a trend to protect profit margins

Financial speculate that AirAsia will push to discounts of up to 60% for the A321neo and two thirds for the A330neo. According to the negotiations, the amount of money remitted on the first day alongside any new AirAsia order could be low.

"This transaction has no value in terms of (initial) financial commitment," said the first source to Reuters

(Additional report by Victoria Bryan, Anshuman Daga, Jamie Freed, edited by Leslie Adler)