Airbus seals $50-bn jet deal to outdo Boeing

The Indigo deal more than doubles Airbus's previous order book for the year, which stood at about 290 aircraft

Airbus SE announced the biggest commercial-plane transaction in its history, securing an order for single-aisle aircraft valued at nearly $50 billion at the Dubai Air Show, outdoing Boeing’s own $20 billion mega-deal.

Wednesday’s pact for 430 A320neo planes with US investor Indigo Partners marked a turnaround for Airbus at the Gulf expo, where it had been trailing its rival. It’s also a crowning achievement for sales chief John Leahy, who is set to retire after a career in which he has struck deals for more than 16,000 jets and lifted the European planemaker into a duopoly position with Boeing.

For Indigo Partners,