Airbus (FRA:AIR) has agreed to a record-breaking deal, in which it will sell 430 jets worth up to $50 billion (£38 billion) to a range of budget airlines.
The preliminary deal was signed at the Dubai Airshow, offering a huge boost to the airline as it spent the past year lagging behind rival Boeing.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) also made a deal at the airshow, confirming plans to sell 175 planes to budget airline fly Dubai. Boeing’s deal is estimated to be worth $27 billion.
For Indigo, the Airbus deal will lead to upgraded jetliners that can boost the fleets of ultra-low-cost carriers to cities such as Budapest. The aircraft will go to airlines such as Frontier Airlines, Volaris, Wizz Air Holdings Plc and upstart JetSmart.
It does not, however, top Airbus’s deal, which is the largest order for aircraft by volume in history.
Whilst both deals are currently provisional, both Boeing and Airbus have said they hope to finalise them in the next few months.
Airbus’s deal with Indigo will more than double the airline’s existing orders for 2017, which was 290 aircraft as of the end of October.
The deal comes as Airbus sale chief John Leahy will retire at the end of the year. He retires with his hope to clinch a final bid deal after 20 years at the airline.
“In 2018 I will be 68 years of age. I cannot go on indefinitely,” he told the Financial Times.
“These guys who want to work until their 70s do themselves and their company a disservice.”
Leahy has sold over 15,000 jets that are estimated to be worth $1.7 trillion.
Shares in Airbus increased by three percent following the announcement. They soon fell back down to an increase of 1.80 percent to €85.34 following the announcement of the Boeing deal.