Indonesia's Lion Air stuns again with a mega Airbus deal
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JAKARTA (AFP) - Lion Air, a little-known carrier launched 13 years ago with just one plane, has struck two of the world's largest aircraft orders in a staggering US$46 billion (S$57.5) bet on Indonesia's air transport boom.
France announced on Monday that Indonesia's fastest-growing airline had agreed to buy 234 medium-haul A320 jets worth US$23.8 billion from European aerospace giant Airbus.
The deal, the biggest civilian contract ever for Airbus, comes after Lion Air astounded the industry with a US$22.4 billion agreement for 230 Boeing 737 airliners, inked in 2011 as a visiting US President Barack Obama looked on.
The impressive orders are in sharp contrast with the size of the company, which is banned from US and EU skies over safety fears.
