Story ID: GPgarudaA330neo04192016
Garuda Indonesia Orders 14 Airbus A330neos
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: Widebodies slated to develop airline’s medium- and long-haul networks
Word Count: 185
Garuda Indonesia confirmed an order with Airbus for the purchase of 14 A330-900neos during a ceremony in London on Tuesday attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The order replaces an existing contract for seven current generation A330-300s, and calls for first delivery in 2019.

“This deal underlines the increasing importance of our ties with Indonesia, a fast-growing economy and set to become the seventh largest in the world by 2030,” said Cameron. “We are the fifth biggest investor in Indonesia and our relationship has more untapped potential. We want to encourage more British businesses to seize on these opportunities and we will continue to support them by banging the drum for British skills and expertise.”

Airbus builds the wings for the A330 in the UK and Rolls-Royce will supply Trent 7000s turbofans to power the neo. Designed to reduce fuel consumption over the current A330 by 14 percent per seat, the A330-900neo will enter services in the fourth quarter of 2017 with launch customer TAP Air Portugal, according to Airbus’s schedules.