Airbus to sell 430 planes to Indigo for $49.5 billion

New Delhi/Dubai: Airbus on Wednesday said that it will sell 430 airplanes to US firm Indigo Partners for USD 49.5 billion in the European firm's biggest deal ever.

The announcement came at the Dubai Air Show and the deal includes 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos.

The aircraft will be allocated among the ultra low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines (United States), JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary) upon the completion of final purchase agreements between Airbus and the four airlines.

A320neos list for USD 108.4 million apiece and A321neos at USD 127 million. Airlines and manufacturers often negotiate lower prices for big deals like these.

Indigo Partners is a Phoenix-based private equity firm. It owns Denver-based Frontier Airlines and owns part of Mexico's Volaris. It's managed by William Franke, a pioneer of the cheap tickets and high fees airline business that has spread overseas and is growing in the United States.

IndiGo and Indigo Partners are separate firms with separate management.

Airbus' previous biggest-ever sale came in August 2015, when it sold 250 A320neos to Indian budget airline IndiGo, a deal estimated to be worth USD 26 billion at list prices.

When added to existing Airbus A320 Family orders, the new agreement will make Indigo Partners one of the largest customers by order number in the world for the Airbus single-aisle aircraft family. Airlines in the Indigo Partners family previously have placed orders for 427 A320 Family aircraft.

The A320neo Family incorporates the latest technologies, including new generation engines and Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together will deliver 20 percent fuel savings by 2020.  

With more than 5,200 orders received from 95 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has captured nearly 60 percent market share.