Airbus nears initial deal with Cebu for 70 jets, sources say

PARIS/MANILA (Reuters) -Airbus is closing in on a preliminary deal with Philippine budget airline Cebu Air for dozens of narrow-body jets to be announced in the coming days, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Cebu Air, which operates as Cebu Pacific, and Airbus both declined to comment on any commercial discussions.

The airline has been looking to order 100-150 narrow-body jets from Boeing or Airbus worth up to $12 billion at list prices, in what was seen as potentially the Philippines' largest jet purchase.

Two of the people said the deal involved 70 jets, including a number of A321neo models.

Cebu Pacific has said it aims to more than double its fleet by 2035 to take advantage of a long-term travel boom across Southeast Asia following the COVID-19 pandemic.

It operates a fleet of 64 Airbus and 14 ATR aircraft, which will increase to 92 by end-2024.

Bloomberg news reported earlier this month that Cebu was set to favour Airbus for up to 150 airplanes.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jan Harvey)