Hong Kong Airlines has agreed to take another six Airbus A330-200s, under a new memorandum of understanding with the airframer.

The airline originally agreed to take 20 A330s under a similar memorandum in early 2007, and this was firmed in September of the same year.

But Airbus' backlog figures for December 2008 show that the carrier subsequently cut this order by three aircraft to 17.

The new agreement for six A330-200s - which comes during the week of the Singapore Air Show - will take Hong Kong Airlines' overall commitment to 23 of the type.

Hong Kong Airlines plans to use the aircraft on routes across the Asia-Pacific region, and for flights to destinations in Europe and the Middle East.

No engine selection has been disclosed for the additional six aircraft but Hong Kong Airlines chose the Rolls-Royce Trent 700EP for its previous batch.

Hong Kong Airlines also has 30 Airbus A320s on order.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news