PARIS (AP) — Aircraft leasing company International Lease Finance Corp. is buying 20 of Airbus' future wide-bodied A350 aircraft, the European plane-making consortium said Friday.
The deal is potentially worth more than 2.3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) on the basis of Airbus' catalog prices.
ILFC, the world's leading commercial aircraft leasing company and Airbus' biggest customer, originally had ordered 16 aircraft based on a first design for the A350 that Airbus scrapped in 2006.
ILFC has signed up for the A350-800 and A350-900 versions of the aircraft, with the possibility of switching into the larger A350-1000 version.
The ILFC contract brings total orders for the A350 to 196 from nine customers.
Airbus still is in the process of deciding on suppliers for the aircraft, which will enter service with airlines in 2013.
