By Kimberley Kao


Philippines budget airline operator Cebu Air will buy up to 152 Airbus jets valued at $24 billion, an order it said would be the largest in the country's history.

Cebu, which operates under the name Cebu Pacific, said Tuesday that a preliminary deal covered firm orders to buy up to 102 A321neo jets, plus purchase rights for 50 A320neo jets. It said it expects to finalize the deal in the third quarter.

The airline valued the jets at $24 billion at current list prices, although buyers typically receive steep discounts in such deals. It said it has chosen Pratt & Whitney engines for the jets.

"The order is designed to provide Cebu Pacific with maximum flexibility to adapt fleet growth to market conditions, with the ability to switch between" the two jet models, Chief Executive Michael Szucs said.

Cebu has been building back operations since the Covid-19 pandemic, with passengers carried in the first quarter up 14% from a year earlier to 5.5 million. With a fleet of more than 80 aircraft, including 68 Airbus jets as of May, the airline flies to 35 domestic and 24 international destinations, including Australia, the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia.

Cebu didn't specify a timeline for delivery of the jets.

Airbus has been facing production problems, citing persistent supply-chain issues in engines, aerostructures and cabin equipment. Last month, it said it wouldn't meet its annual delivery target of about 800 planes this year, lowering the goal to roughly 770.

Airbus handed 142 planes to customers in the first quarter, up nearly 12% versus a year ago. Rival Boeing delivered 83, a 36% drop from a year earlier.


Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-02-24 0655ET