easyJet PLC shareholders have approved an almost US$20 billion aircraft order from Airbus Group (EPA:AIR), making the carrier one of the planemaker’s biggest customers in Europe.
The British budget airline held a general meeting with shareholders on Tuesday to get approval for its largest aircraft order yet and received the backing of 99.94% of investors.
The company first announced the order in October and said deliveries would run through 2034.
easyJet chairman Stephen Hester said: “The board believes the proposed purchase will support positive returns for the business and forms a core part of the delivery of our strategic objectives.
“We are therefore pleased with the strong support that shareholders have shown today by approving the transaction.”
The order relates to 157 A320neo family aircraft and includes purchase rights for a further 100 jets.
Some 56 of the jets in the order will be the A320neo, with the remaining 101 models of the larger A321neo, with these due to be delivered from 2029.
easyJet added that the deal would also see 35 A320neo already on order converted into A321neos.
“Airbus is delighted to be accompanying easyJet in its fleet growth and renewal,” the manufacturer’s chief commercial officer, Christian Schere, commented, “bravo easyJet, and thank you”.