Airbus, Indigo Partners’ four portfolio airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purchase by the four airlines of 430 additional A320neo Family aircraft. The aircraft will be allocated among the ultra low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines (United States), JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary) upon the completion of final purchase agreements between Airbus and the four airlines.

The 430-aircraft commitment, comprised of 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos worth $49.5 billion at list prices, was announced at the Dubai Airshow by Bill Franke, Managing Partner of Indigo Partners, and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft. When added to existing Airbus A320 Family orders, the new agreement will make Indigo Partners one of the largest customers by order number in the world for the Airbus single-aisle aircraft family. Airlines in the Indigo Partners family previously have placed orders for 427 A320 Family aircraft.

Also present at the announcement were Enrique Beltranena, CEO of Volaris; Barry Biffle, CEO of Frontier Airlines; Estuardo Ortiz, CEO of JetSMART; and József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air. They confirmed their firm’s individual aircraft orders as follows:

• Wizz – 72 A320neo, 74 A321neo
• Frontier – 100 A320neo, 34 A321neo
• JetSMART – 56 A320neo, 14 A321neo
• Volaris – 46 A320neo, 34 A321neo

Indigo Partners’ Bill Franke indicated that engine selections will be made and announced at a later date.

The A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies, including new generation engines and Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together will deliver 20 percent fuel savings by 2020.  With more than 5,200 orders received from 95 customers since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has captured nearly 60 percent market share.

Indigo Partners LLC, based in Phoenix, Arizona, is a private equity fund focused on worldwide investments in air transportation.

In conjunction with this announcement, Frontier Airlines issued this statement:

Frontier Airlines on November 15, 2017 announced its intent to order 134 A320neo Family aircraft from Airbus, which will triple the size of the low-cost carrier over the next 10 years. Valued at a list price of more than $15 billion, this announcement grows Frontier’s order book to more than 200 aircraft and means more than five thousand new, highly skilled jobs for the U.S. These aircraft are part of the single largest Airbus order announcement ever made – a 430 aircraft order valued at a $49.5 billion list price by Indigo Partners, Frontier’s owner.

This new 134 aircraft order is comprised of 100 A320neo and 34 A321neo aircraft. The A321neo will be a new compliment to the carrier’s existing fuel-efficient A321 family fleet. The addition of these aircraft to the fleet will allow Frontier to grow in new and existing markets, provide even more compelling low fares, further improve the carrier’s already industry-leading fuel efficiency and maintain the company’s status of having one of the youngest and most modern fleets in the U.S. The 134 aircraft order announced today will be delivered between 2021 and 2026.

In addition, in 2018 Frontier will start taking delivery of aircraft from Airbus’ U.S.-based Mobile, Ala. production facility.

Additionally, Frontier has also converted its remaining 18 A319neo orders to the A320neo aircraft. The airline currently has 67 A320neo aircraft on order.

This new order will allow Frontier to continue its focus on achieving the lowest costs in the U.S. airline industry and utilizing these savings to lower fares. Earlier this year, Frontier announced a network expansion that makes the carrier’s low fares accessible to 90 percent of Americans.

Photo: Airbus.