easyJet announced it had exercised its purchasing options resulting in 12 firm orders of A320neo aircraft for delivery in 2024. The airline values the contract at US$1.368bn and is subject to a significant discount from Airbus.
At the same time, the LCC said it would postpone delivery dates of nine A320neo aircraft and three A321neo aircraft resulting in 2021 deliveries being reduced by 12 aircraft, and being deferred to delivery dates starting from 2023.
“The agreement allows the fleet to meet the planned fleet size for 2021 and is a key demonstration of easyJet’s fleet flexibility which means the airline is able to either increase or decrease the fleet growth programme as well as increase or decrease deployed capital,” stated a spokesperson from the airline. Following this agreement, easyJet has 13 purchase options and 58 purchase rights remaining from the deal in signed in 2013.
The new deal brings the carrier’s orders for the A320neo family to 159, which makes in the largest customer of the type in Europe. It puts its overall orders for Airbus single-aisles to 480 from the A320 series. With 39 A320neo series aircraft and 294 A320ceo types within its fleet, easyJet is also the largest A320 operator in Europe.
