Airbus Wins $1.4b order for 13 planes from Japan’s Peach

Airbus Group won an order for 13 Airbus planes valued at about $1.4b at list prices from Japanese budget carrier Peach Aviation, making inroads in a nation where most aircraft flown come from Boeing. Peach signed an agreement to buy 10 A320neo aircraft and three A320ceo planes, it said Friday. The carrier plans to expand its fleet to at least 35 planes by 2020 and to 100 later, CEO Shinichi Inoue said Friday at a briefing in Tokyo. The order for A320neos, with the first scheduled to be handed over in 2019, is a bright spot for a plane model whose deliveries have been plagued by engine issues. Peach, backed by ANA Holdings, started operations four years ago and is buying more planes as demand for low-cost travel in Japan spurs growth. The carrier plans to set up a base at Sendai airport next year and at Sapporo’s Shin-Chitose airport in 2018, Inoue said. The A320neo has a list price of $107.3m, while the A320ceo is priced at $98m. <br/>