Wizz Air commits to buy Airbus planes worth $13.7 billion

By Tim Hepher and Victoria Bryan PARIS (Reuters) - Hungary's Wizz Air committed to buy 110 Airbus A321neo aircraft at the Paris air show on Thursday worth $13.7 billion (£8.6 billion) at list prices as the Eastern European-focused budget airline continues to expand its network and capacity. The memorandum of understanding, reached early on Thursday after all-night negotiations in Paris, calls for 110 firm deliveries and purchase rights for a further 90 aircraft. Reuters reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter, that Airbus was close to a deal to sell around 100 A320neo-family jets to Wizz Air following a fierce battle over price with rival Boeing to retain its status as exclusive supplier to the carrier. "With this order, we are paving the way for the next decade to ensure the growth of this business," Wizz Air Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi told a news conference. The jetliners will be delivered between 2019 and 2024, Airbus said, adding that this marked the biggest single order for the A321neo model. Wizz Air currently operates 61 aircraft on over 380 routes from 22 bases focussed on Central and Eastern Europe. Airbus said it won $57 billion worth of business for a total of 421 aircraft overall at the air show this week. The deals include firm orders for 124 aircraft worth $16.3 billion and commitments for 297 aircraft worth $40.7 billion. Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Bregier told a news conference to wrap up the air show that the Wizz Air order confirmed that the market trend was extremely positive. (Editing by James Regan)