AIRSHOW-Airbus bags Asian deals as Farnborough struggles to take off

* AirAsia orders 100 Airbus A321neo jets

* India's GoAir signs MOU to buy 72 Airbus A320neos

* Qatar Airways to buy 10 percent stake in LATAM (Adds AirAsia CEO comments)

By Tim Hepher and Conor Humphries

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 12 (Reuters) - Airbus bagged deals worth $20 billion to seize the initiative at a rain-soaked Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday, but industry executives said the mostly lacklustre event confirmed a recent boom in aircraft orders was finally fizzling out.

AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes flew into the UK to finalise an order for 100 Airbus A321neo jets to support the low-cost airline's expansion, confident of striking a deal at bargain prices as planemakers brace for a slowdown.

The 185-seat A321neo is worth $125.7 million per plane at list prices, but AirAsia is expected to pay a fraction of that after placing orders for hundreds of jets and establishing itself as one of Airbus's largest customers.

One source close to the matter speculated the jets could be sold to AirAsia for less than its previous large order for the smaller A320neo model, though Airbus sales chief John Leahy insisted earlier that A321neo prices were improving.

Fernandes told a news conference the A321neos were in addition to the A320neos, and not replacements. Some of the new jets would be for the Malaysian-based airline's leasing business, he added.

"With this aircraft we believe we will hit 100 million passengers in the not-too-distant future," Fernandes said, adding negotiations started over a meal in an Iranian restaurant in London last year, for which he said he paid the bill.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that AirAsia was studying a dual listing in Hong Kong and moving towards setting up a joint venture in China as part of plans to become a pan-Asian player.

The company said in a statement earlier on Tuesday that it was not currently pursuing any new joint venture proposals and was not formally considering a dual-listing.

But Fernandes told reporters that if AirAsia had an opportunity to be in China, "we will 100 percent be there."

AirAsia was interested in connecting secondary and tertiary cities in China, he said, adding the company's new head of North Asia had a very clear mandate to build businesses in that area.

In further evidence of efforts to galvanise what has been a relatively quiet start to the biennial air show, CFM and Pratt & Whitney were competing for the right to supply engines for the A321neos, with negotiators huddled over papers in the corner of an airline award ceremony.

Separately, India's GoAir said it had signed a preliminary agreement to buy 72 A320neos, worth around $7.7 billion at current list prices and doubling an existing order.

QATAR BUYS INTO LATAM

Europe's Airbus and U.S. rival Boeing have enjoyed years of strong growth thanks to rising air travel and demand for new fuel-efficient models.

On Monday, they both increased their forecasts for aircraft demand over the next 20 years, betting rising wealth in Asia would continue to boost airline passenger numbers.

But analysts are worried growing risks to the global economy, from slowing growth in China to Britain's decision to leave the European Union, could dry up orders or even lead to some cancellations.

Indeed, air show participants report a lower level of dealmaking than in recent years.

Airbus sales chief John Leahy expressed confidence that record production plans would be upheld, thanks in part to a strategy of building up spare orders, but some airlines that have dominated previous events are widely said to be quietly rescheduling their orders for Airbus or Boeing jets.

"For both Boeing and Airbus, the question still isn't whether or not all the aircraft they produce will have a taker, but who this taker will be and at what price," said Bertrand Grabowski, managing director at Germany's DVB Bank.

Underscoring the growing clout of Asia and the Middle East in the industry, Qatar Airways announced a deal to buy up to 10 percent of Latin America's largest airline LATAM Airlines in a $613 million deal.

That follows the Gulf airline's purchase last year of 15 percent of British Airways owner International Airlines Group , which like Qatar and LATAM is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

Boeing, meanwhile, said an undisclosed Chinese customer had signed a commitment for 30 of its 737 family of planes, in a deal worth more than $3 billion at list prices, while European travel firm TUI finalised an order for 10 737 MAX 8 jets and one 787-9, worth $1.4 billion at catalogue prices.

Airbus confirmed an order from German airline Germania for 25 A320neos, worth $2.6 billion at list prices, as reported earlier by Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Sarah Young, Andrea Shalal and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Mark Potter)