Paris Air Show: AirAsia X orders the A350

June 16: AirAsia X, the long-haul, low-cost affiliate of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group, placed an order for 10 A350-900 XWB aircraft with Airbus.

“By buying the A350 XWB, the strategy of AirAsia and AirAsia X is now fixed until 2020. The vision of creating the world’s first long-haul and short-haul low-cost airline is complete and we are all very excited,” said Tony Fernandes, Director and Founder of AirAsia X. The 900 version of the A350 can seat more than 400 passengers and has a range of up to 8,300 miles. Orders for the A350 XWB now stand at 493 from 31 customers worldwide.

Airbus’ direct competitor to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the A350 is scheduled to make its first flight in 2011 with deliveries commencing in 2013.