AIRBUS SE FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - AirAsia (>> AirAsia Berhad) plans to order 100 Airbus (>> Airbus Group) A321neo jets, the chief executive of the Malaysia-based airline said on Tuesday, confirming what sources close to the matter told Reuters earlier.
"We are about to sign A321neos," Tony Fernandes told a news conference at the Farnborough Airshow in southern England, adding negotiations were continuing to finalise the contract.
The jets will be delivered from 2019, Fernandes said.
"With this aircraft we believe we will hit 100 million passengers in the not-too-distant future," Fernandes said, adding negotiations started over a meal in an Iranian restaurant in London last year, for which he said he paid the bill.
The deal will make AirAsia the largest customer of the A320-family of jets, surpassing Germany's Lufthansa and others, Fernandes said.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter)
