Mexican carrier VivaAerobus places order for 52 Airbus A320 aircraft

Mexican airline VivaAerobus has signed an agreement for purchasing 52 Airbus A320 family aircraft, in a deal worth $5.1bn that marks the biggest Airbus aircraft order by a single airline in Latin America.

The new order comprises 40 A320neo and 12 A320ceo, and is in line with the airline’s domestic and international network expansion plans.

VivaAerobus will announce the engine selection in the future.

The airline plans to replace its entire fleet of 737-300 to become an all-Airbus airline by 2016.

VivaAerobus CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua said: "This decision will support our growth strategy, as it will allow us to further reduce our industry leading fares, and will increase the cost-per-seat advantage we currently have among our competitors."

Airbus Customers chief operating officer John Leahy added: "The A320 gamily offers the best productivity, the lowest operating costs, the fastest turnarounds and best fuel efficiency of any single-aisle aircraft."

According to Airbus, the A320 family has lowest seat-mile costs and offers a wider cabin, compared to similar single-aisle products in the market.

The A320neo is quipped with new engines and large wingtip devices called Sharklets that result in a 15% fuel-burn reduction.

To date, more than 9,900 A320s have been ordered and almost 5,800 delivered to nearly 390 customers and operators.

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Image: VivaAerobus will replace its entire fleet of 737-300 in order to become an all-Airbus airline by 2016. Photo: courtesy of Airbus.