Indonesia's flag carrier airlines Garuda Indonesia has signed Letter of Intent (LoI) with France- based plane maker Airbus related to its plan to acquire 30 Airbus A350 XWB which would be used to serve non-stop flights to Europe, a Garuda Indonesia senior official said here on Monday.

"With its fuel saving, long range and extra wide cabin, the plane would be one of our options in a bid to reposition us as a premium operator to lead the competitive flight services to regions beyond Asia," Garuda Indonesia President Director Arif Wibowo said in a statement.

According to Arif, Airbus A 350 XWB has specifications that fit with Garuda Indonesia's future business expansion plans.

He said that the non-stop flights to Europe would be conducted from Indonesia's airports in Jakarta and leisure island of Bali. As of last year, the state-run airline firm targeted to operate 169 planes from various types, reports said.

Indonesian airline firms were allowed to resume flight services to Europe since 2009 after the EU (European Union) slapped the flight ban in 2007 for safety concerns.

Airbus A350 XWB was designed to succeed the A330 and A340 models widely used by prominent airlines in the world. The plane is the first model in Airbus line production that uses carbon- fiber reinforced polymer in its wing and fuselage parts.

Airbus A350 XWB is the apparent competitor to Boeing 787 and 777. Endi

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