Korea's Asiana Airlines to buy 25 Airbus planes for 3.1t won

[SEOUL] South Korea's Asiana Airlines Inc on Wednesday said it would buy 25 aeroplanes from Airbus Group NV for 3.1 trillion won (US$2.83 billion) over seven years through to 2025.

Asiana, in a regulatory filing, said it would use the newly acquired A321 NEO aircraft on mid- to short-distance flights to Asian destinations such as Japan, China and Southeast Asia.

The airline currently operates 33 A321 and A320 jets from a fleet of 85. It plans to gradually replace its A321-200 planes with the A321 NEOs starting in 2019.

Asiana, which has been bolstering its safety oversight since a crash in San Francisco in 2013, returned to the black last year with an operating profit of 98.1 billion won, from an 11.2 billion won operating loss in 2013.

The airline, which owns the largest stake in Air Busan Co Ltd, South Korea's second-largest low-cost carrier by revenue, has said it is considering launching a second budget carrier based in or near Seoul.

Shares in Asiana were 7.9 per cent higher as of 0518 GMT.

REUTERS