Aircraft Industry: Europe's Airbus lands record $20bn order

Airbus A320

Europe's Airbus has secured a record order potentially worth $20bn at list prices from Indonesia's Lion Air, sources familiar with the matter say.

According to industry sources, the deal would break rival Boeing's grip on one of the world's fastest-growing airlines, Reuters news agency reported on Monday.

In a sign of the rising importance of Asian budget carriers for high-tech manufacturing jobs, the deal is expected to be announced on Monday at a ceremony overseen by Francois Hollande, the French president, the sources said, asking not to be named.  EADS subsidiary Airbus declined comment.

France said earlier Hollande would meet Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier on Monday to celebrate "a major industrial deal," but withheld further details.

The red-carpet event mirrors a record 201-plane order for equivalent Boeing aircraft from Lion Air signed in front of visiting US President Barack Obama in late 2011, sparking European claims of US political pressure which Washington and Boeing denied.

The sources said the new Airbus A320-family order from Lion Air, founded by travel entrepreneur Rusdi Kirana, could top that number.

Read more: Europe's Airbus lands record $20bn order - Europe - Al Jazeera English