Russia's No. 2 airline, Transaero, has agreed to buy 20 planes from Airbus in a deal worth about 5.3 billion euros ($7.1 billion), the European plane maker said Thursday in an online statement.
The deal, brokered at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain, will see eight A330ceo planes and 12 A330neo planes being supplied to Transaero, marking the latest stage in the privately owned company's efforts to modernize its fleet, which consists of just more than 100 aircraft.
The order means Transaero is the first European company to place an order for the A330neo liner, which has been modified to increase its fuel efficiency.
"Maintaining the balance between proven technologies and new fuel efficiency and passenger comfort solutions, the A330neo will enable a smooth integration into Transaero's fleet and represent an attractive investment profile for our financial partners," Transaero executive director Alexander Krinichansky was quoted in the statement as saying.
Transearo is a return customer for Airbus. In 2011, the airline signed a contact with Airbus for eight A320neo and a year later became the first Russian company to order A380 aircraft. The first of the four A330s it ordered will enter service at the end of 2015.
This year's airshow has been extremely profitable for Airbus. Since the event got under way on Monday, it has received orders for 496 planes in deals worth a total of $75 billion, breaking the records set during its previous visits, the company said in a separate statement.
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