“This landmark deal is the strongest endorsement yet of our decision to invest in the development of the A320neo”, said the Airbus Chief Executive Officer, Tom Enders while responding the questions about Malaysian airline, Air Asia Bhd.’s order, in a press conference.

The Air Asia, one of the low cost airlines in Malaysia, has ordered 200 A320neo jets from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. NV. The contract is believed to be worth $18.5 billion, according to the list prices. This is a largest-ever deal for Airbus.

The A320neo is a recently developed fuel-efficient version of the Airbus A320 which is believed to be operational from 2015. The Air Asia has marked the Leap-X engine from CFM International and Safran SA (SAF), to power the planes.

During the Paris Air Show, the manufacturer had forecasted the airline as its number one customer in the single-aisle market, with a total of 375 orders for A320-series aircraft, including 89 already in service.

Further, the Airbus is looking forward to launch the re-engine A320neo from late 2015, promising efficiency gains of 15 percent versus existing narrow- body planes.

Additionally, Go Air, a low-cost-carrier in India has confirmed its order for 72 medium-haul Airbus A320neo passenger jets, a 6.6 billion dollars (4.6 billion Euros) deal.