Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised Malaysia-headquartered airline operator AirAsia on a USD19 billion purchase of 150 new Airbus A220-300 aircraft in the largest single firm order for A220 planes globally to date.
The transaction includes options for a further 150 A220 family aircraft.
Assets and structured finance partner Chris Mitchell led the WFW London aviation and aerospace team with the support of senior associate Liam Clozier. The team provided legal support across all aspects of the transaction.
“We were involved in the full negotiation and structuring of the purchase order, from the initial MoU stage through to definitive agreements, advising on key regulatory, compliance, commercial and contractual aspects of the transaction,” Mitchell told Asia Business Law Journal.
He added that the size of AirAsia’s order proved to be one of the defining features of the deal.
“The key highlights were really the scale of the order and the introduction of a new aircraft variant into AirAsia’s fleet, supporting the airline’s broader fleet and network strategy,” he said.
Airbus did not engage external counsel, handling the negotiation of the purchase order in-house.
The agreement was announced at Airbus’ Mirabel facility in Montreal, Canada, and marks AirAsia’s first aircraft order since the covid-19 pandemic.
The acquisition of the A220 aircraft, configured with an increased capacity of 160 seats, will support AirAsia’s network expansion and growth strategy. The new fleet is expected to serve routes across Asean and Central Asia, enabling the airline to deploy its larger aircraft on longer-haul services. The A220 is also anticipated to improve operational efficiency and profitability on mid-density routes.
