Airbus lands Air France-KLM jet order, capping trio of deals

Airbus completed a triple crown of aircraft orders at the expense of rival Boeing (BA.N) on Thursday with a deal to supply 100 narrowbody jets to Air France-KLM subsidiaries in the airline group's largest purchase based on number of jets. The planemaker's third big win in 36 hours - after deals in Singapore and Australia - involves Dutch subsidiary KLM and a pair of low-cost units, all of which have traditionally relied solely on Boeing for widely used medium-haul passenger planes. The contract covers Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft and will renew the medium-haul fleets of KLM and Dutch low-cost unit Transavia Netherlands, while also allowing for both the renewal and expansion of the fleet at sister unit Transavia France. The bigger-than-expected order from Europe's second-largest airline group by fleet size came hours after Airbus clinched a deal to supply two tranches of aircraft to Australia's Qantas in a separate defeat for existing supplier Boeing. Air France-KLM said it had also signed a letter of intent to buy four Airbus A350 freighters. Collectively, those orders cap a dramatic week for Airbus after Singapore Airlines threw its weight behind its efforts to break Boeing's grip on the cargo plane market, with its own tentative order for seven A350 freighters.<br/>