New York, January 25 (FinanceEnquiry.com) - 222 single-aisle airliners have been ordered by Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA from Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Airbus ASA  for a total cost of $21.5 billion. The order includes 100 Boeing 737 MAX8 planes and 100 Airbus A320neo aircrafts along with 22 existing 737-800 models of Boeing. The Norway-based carrier said that the aircraft manufacturers will start delivering the planes in 2016. Options for 100 737 MAX8s and 50 A320neos have been taken by the Norwegian airline.

Boeing said that the Norwegian airline is the first European customer for the MAX model. Its target year for the delivery of the first 737 MAX is 2017, whereas Airbus customers will start receiving the first A320neo planes by late 2015. With the acquisition of new, fuel-efficient aircrafts, Norwegian Air Shuttle will be able to make its strategy of offering low-cost fares more effective. Having already expanded in most areas of Europe, it is now planning to start long-haul operations. It will start flights to New York and Bangkok in early 2013. Boeing said that the total value of the order that it has received is $11.4 billion.