AirAsia X has placed an order for 12 Airbus A330neos along with an order for 30 A321XLR aircraft. There were rumours last night that a new order would be announced, and these have now been confirmed by Airbus.

Airbus launched the A321XLR at the Paris Air Show. The aircraft is based on its best selling A321, with an extended range beyond that of the A321LR. We even went as far as to call the Airbus A321XLR the star of the Paris Air Show. Coincidentally, an Airbus A330neo to be delivered to AirAsia X was also present at the Paris Air Show. Both aircraft feature in today's announcement by Airbus.

New order

AirAsia X already has the Airbus A330neo on order, and must have been impressed with the aircraft that was delivered to them earlier this month. As such, AirAsia X has placed an order for 12 more Airbus A330neo aircraft. AirAsia X will now receive 78 Airbus A330neos, cementing the carrier as the type's largest customer.

However, today's order didn't stop there. The airline also became a customer of the Airbus A321XLR. The AirAsia group is the largest customer of the Airbus A320 family with 622 of the aircraft on order.

AirAsia X, Airbus A321XLR, Airbus A330neo
12 more Airbus A330neo aircraft have been ordered by AirAsia X. Photo: Airbus

"Lowest possible operating costs"

Speaking of the new order the CEO of the AirAsia Group, Tony Fernandes, said,

"Together, these aircraft are perfect partners for long haul low cost operations and will allow us to build further on our market leading position in this fast-growing sector."

Meanwhile, Guillaume Faury, The CEO of Airbus added,

"This powerful solution will provide AirAsia X with the lowest possible operating costs to expand its network and enable even more people to fly further than ever before."

AirAsia X, Airbus A330neo, Airbus A321XLR
An AirAsia Airbus A330neo as seen at the Paris Air Show. Photo: Jo Bailey - Simple Flying

Contract signed

The contract for the order was signed in Kuala Lumpur, the home of AirAsia X earlier today. The contract was signed by AirAsia X's CEO, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, and Airbus' CEO, Guillaume Faury. However, the signing of the contract was also overseen by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

According to Airbus, the A330neo will bring AirAsia X fuel savings of 25% compared to "older generation competitor aircraft of a similar size". Meanwhile, the Airbus A321XLR will bring similar savings of 30% lower fuel burn than "previous generation competitor aircraft".

What do you make of AirAsia X's order for the Airbus A321XLR in addition to more Airbus A330neos? Let us know in the comments!