Airbus could be close to announcing a massive order of A330neo widebodies. The European manufacturer would be the favorite to supply 30 aircraft of the model to Malaysia Airlines in an expected announcement for the Farnborough Air Show, Bloomberg said.
Malaysia intends to replace the old A330-200 and A330-300 that are in service (24 aircraft) and is also evaluating the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
According to an agency source, the A330neo would be ahead in the race and a possible announcement during the Farnborough is quite likely. At list price, the future deal could be close to $10 billion.
Although it was a major Boeing customer, Malaysia Airlines has opted for Airbus aircraft for the majority of its orders.
In addition to operating six A380s, the Southeast Asian airline also has six other A350s. The single-aisle jet fleet, however, is exclusive to the 737-800, with an average age of 10 years.
Malaysia once operated 44 Boeing 747s and 17 777s, one of which disappeared in 2014 while a second widebody was shot down months later by a missile launched by pro-Russian separatists while flying over Ukraine.
