KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysian long-haul budget airline pioneer AirAsia X said on Tuesday it will buy 10 more Airbus A330-300 aircraft for 2.1 billion dollars, bringing its fleet to a total of 25 aircraft.

The carrier had previously signed an order with Airbus for 15 of the aircraft.

Azran Osman Rani, chief executive officer of AirAsia X, told AFP that a signing ceremony to confirm the purchase of the 10 additional A330s would be held on Thursday.

"The list price for the 10 new aircraft is 2.1 billion dollars. With this firm order, the total number of A330 aircraft in our fleet will be 25," he said.

On future fleet expansion plans, Azran said the airline was eyeing the "next generation aircraft of Airbus 350-900 and the Boeing 787-9."

AirAsia X has began flying to Australia's Gold Coast and to China using a leased A330.

It has plans to launch flights to Britain in the fourth quarter of 2008 after acquiring additional aircraft and will eventually extend to Europe, Japan and the Middle East, with fares on average 50 percent lower than full-service carriers.

AirAsia X, an affiliate of AirAsia and Virgin Blue, was launched in January 2007. AirAsia and AirAsia X share common shareholders, including AirAsia founder and chief Tony Fernandes.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group has taken a 20 percent stake in the airline and the British billionaire has vowed to ensure that the project turns a profit. - AFP/de