Air France-KLM Set to Announce a Large Airbus Order

Air France is set to approve the purchase of 50 to 70 new Airbus planes, French newspaper Journal du Dimanche reports, in a boon for the European aviation giant.Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith, who took the reins of Paris-based Air France-KLM last year, will outline his plans for updating the airline’s fleet Wednesday when the company announces its first-half results, JDD said without saying how it obtained the information.The order of A220 planes, the first by Air France in years, is set to be approved by the board on July 30. After disappointing results for its A380 jet, Airbus has already received major orders from Delta and JetBlue for the leaner A220 model, which it acquired in a deal with Canada’s Bombardier in 2017.