US airline Delta has placed an order for 37 aircraft with aerospace manufacturer Airbus, which makes planes at Filton and Deeside.

The new agreement to take 37 A321ceo aircraft follows previous purchases for A320 family member planes and takes the ordered total to 82.

As of the end of March 2016, Delta Air Lines was flying a fleet of 165 Airbus aircraft.

The newly ordered planes will feature wingtip sharklets which provide up to 4 per cent fuel-burn savings.

Ed Bastian, Delta's incoming chief executive, said: "The Airbus A320 family of aircraft continues to be a cost-efficient, reliable and customer-pleasing mainstay of our narrowbody fleet.

"The order for the A321s is an opportunistic fleet move that enables us to produce strong returns and cost-effectively accelerate the retirement of Delta's 116 MD-88s in a capital efficient manner."

Philippine Airlines has also finalised a purchase agreement with Airbus covering the firm order of six new planes, plus six options. The contract firms up a memorandum of understanding announced earlier this year during the Singapore Airshow.

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