Airbus signREUTERS/Regis Duvignau
  • Airbus announced on Wednesday that it had secured its biggest-ever sale.
  • The sale includes 430 airplanes, including 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos, to Indigo Partners.
  • Indigo Partners is a private-equity firm based in Phoenix, Arizona, with partial or total ownership of several airlines across America and Europe.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Airbus said on Wednesday that it would sell 430 airplanes to the US firm Indigo Partners for $49.5 billion in the European airline's biggest deal ever.
The deal, announced at the Dubai Air Show, is for 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos. The airlines that use the aircraft will include Frontier Airlines, JetSmart of Chile, Volaris of Mexico, and Wizz Air of Hungary.
A320neos list for $108.4 million apiece and A321neos list for $127 million. Airlines and manufacturers often negotiate lower prices for big deals like these.
Indigo Partners is a private-equity firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. It owns Denver-based Frontier Airlines and part of Mexico's Volaris. It's managed by William Franke, a pioneer of the airline business featuring cheap tickets and high fees that has spread overseas and is growing in the United States.
Airbus' previous biggest sale came in August 2015, when it sold 250 A320neos to the Indian budget airline IndiGo in a deal estimated to be worth $26 billion at list prices. IndiGo and Indigo Partners are separate firms with separate management.
Until Wednesday, the only major deal announced at the Dubai Air Show came on Sunday when the long-haul carrier Emirates purchased 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners in a $15.1 billion deal.
Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has pinned hopes of continuing production of its A380 double-decker jumbo jet on Emirates, the world's largest operator of the aircraft. Reports circulated before the air show that a major A380 sale would be coming.
Airbus employees even filled a news conference on Sunday expecting the A380 sale. They instead found the state-owned Emirates making the deal with Boeing in front of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Emirates now relies solely on the Airbus 380 and the Boeing 777 for its flights, making it the largest operator of both. It has 165 Boeing 777s in its fleet today and took possession of its 100th A380 earlier this month.

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