Airbus is closing in on a preliminary deal with Philippine budget airline Cebu Air for dozens of narrow-body jets to be announced in the coming days, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Cebu Air, which operates as Cebu Pacific, and Airbus both
declined to comment on any commercial discussions.
The airline has been looking to order 100-150 narrow-body
jets from Boeing or Airbus worth up to $12 billion at list prices, in what was
seen as potentially the Philippines’ largest jet purchase.
Two of the people said the deal involved 70 jets, including
a number of A321neo models.
Cebu Pacific has said it aims to more than double its fleet
by 2035 to take advantage of a long-term travel boom across Southeast Asia
following the COVID-19 pandemic.
It operates a fleet of 64 Airbus and 14 ATR aircraft, which
will increase to 92 by end-2024.
Bloomberg news reported earlier this month that Cebu was set
to favour Airbus for up to 150 airplanes