Aegean Air picks Airbus for $5 billion order of 42 planes

Aegean Airlines will order 42 aircraft worth $5 billion (4 billion euros) from Airbus as Greece's largest carrier renews its fleet of single-aisle planes, company executives said on Wednesday.

The order is the largest by a Greek carrier and one of the biggest investments by a private Greek company since the country's debt crisis broke out in 2010.

Seeking to reduce maintenance costs, Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airline group, had been weighing its options between the Airbus A320neo and Boeing's 737 MAX.

"Today is a very important day for Aegean," Vice-Chairman Eftychios Vassilakis said during a news conference. "We confirmed our commitment to improve our competitiveness for signing a deal for an order of up to 42 aircraft.

It is the third time in 19 years that the company is investing in new airplanes, Vassilakis said.

Aegean said...