Italian airline Air One said Thursday it had signed a deal with European airline manufacturer Airbus to buy 30 Airbus A320s worth about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

A company spokesman said the 30 new airbus will replace its fleet of planes supplied by Boeing of the United States and the company had an option to order 60 more airbus aircraft.

"The 30 new A320s ... will be delivered to us between 2006 and 2008 and will progressively replace our Boeing fleet," the company said.

The A320 family of planes produced by Airbus are small aircraft with a single aisle and are favored for short-haul flights.

Air One is the second-biggest airline in Italy after Alitalia. Its current fleet is based in Rome and is composed of 30 Boeing 737s.

The company carried about 5.7 million passengers in 2004 on internal routes in Italy, as well as flights to Greece, Germany, Switzerland and Canada, for which it has a partnership agreement with German airline Lufthansa.

In a news release from Air One, the chairman of Airbus, Gustav Humbert, said that the "operating efficiency and the advanced technology that characterizes the A320 will contribute in the near future to the growth of Air One even on markets that are not now covered."

Air One Chairman Carlo Toto said the company decided on the deal with Airbus after a "rigorous and careful evaluation."

"The A320 will allow us to offer our customers the best comfort," Toto said.

Source: Xinhua