Malaysia's AirAsia says still with Airbus, no plans to buy Boeing planes

AirAsia is sticking with Airbus and has no plans currently to purchase Boeing aircraft, Group CE Tony Fernandes said Thursday. "Boeing is keen to have us as a customer...but right now we are still very much an Airbus customer," he said. To a question if he had plans to buy Boeing planes, Fernandes said "not at the moment". Last month, Reuters reported that sources said AirAsia -Airbus' largest Asian customer - was set to confirm an order of wide-body jets from the European planemaker after Boeing tried to win the airline over and extend a lead in the lucrative long-haul market. Thursday, the airline also announced the sale of its aircraft leasing operations to firms managed by BBAM in a staggered deal that will see the carrier transfer ownership of up to 182 Airbus jets. <br/>