AirAsia X, the long haul, low fare division of the AirAsia Group, sealed a record breaking deal with Airbus, commanding 25 A330-300 aircrafts worth $6 billion (£3.6bn), on Wednesday (December 18) in Paris.

This is the world's largest single order in a single purchase agreement by an airline for the A330-300 fleet.

The deal was signed at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris by Azram Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X and Fabrice Bregier, President and CEO of Airbus.

"It's a very important order for us because this has a value of about 6 billion dollars, twenty-five 330's and at the same time it confirms that the low cost potential now reaches the long haul missions. This is the first airline, which has selected this type of operations, and it is growing and growing with the most competitive long haul aircraft for these missions, which is the 330," Bregier said.

The long-term goal for AirAsia X is to offer passengers low cost flights to more destinations in Asia and eventually in Europe.

"It's a step in a new direction for low cost carriers. I know we're two separate companies, but we're obviously very closely linked, and I think this provides a completely new avenue for passengers in terms of connecting and making Asia a much smaller place, and soon Europe," Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Co-founder and Director of AirAsia X, said.

The airline will start taking delivery of its newly ordered fleet in 2015 as it begins a major expansion of its network across the Asia Pacific region.

The twin engine A330 is one of the most widely used widebody aircrafts in service today. According to Airbus, it is the most cost efficient widebody twin aircraft in operation.

Presented by Adam Justice