Avianca orders 100 Airbus A320neo in largest deal for Latin American airline

Colombian airline Avianca has confirmed its order for 100 A320neo family aircraft, the largest ever by a Latin American airline, in deal worth approximately $10 billion at catalogue prices, Airbus said Tuesday.

The  "largest single order ever made in Latin America’s aviation history" will "allow Avianca to maintain one of the youngest fleets in the region as the airline aims to replace airplanes currently operating from their Bogota, Lima and San Salvador hubs," said a statement by Airbus.

The order is for A319neo, A320neo and A321neo aircraft, different versions of the remotorised single-aisle medium-range aircraft that Airbus is to start delivering next year that promises more than 15 percent in fuel savings.

"This historic order allows us to solidify our passenger experience strategy in local markets on a broader scale,” Avianca Holding's chief executive Fabio Villegas Ramirez was quoted as saying in the statement.

"The A320neo brings Avianca the highest efficiency at the lowest cost, making it ideally suited to operate within their network and especially within the region’s challenging airports," he added.

The order takes the number of planes Avianca has ordered from Airbus to nearly 300.

Most of the aircraft, 276, are for the A320, including 133 of the remotorised neo versions. It has also ordered 15 of the wide-body A330 planes.

Avianca Holdings includes Colombia's Avianca and El Salvador's Taca airline, which merged in 2010.