Qantas places $2 billion GE Aviation order

Australian airline Qantas has placed a $2 billion order with a Castle Hayne-based General Electric Aviation subsidiary, according to a news release.

The local facility will develop the rotating parts for the engines that will power 78 Airbus aircrafts.

The planes — scheduled for delivery in 2016 — will join Qantas airline’s low-fare subsidiary, Jetstar’s fleet.

The Jetstar Group operates about 3,000 flights a week to about 60 destinations, including 30 in Asia and eight in China, the news release said. The group is the largest low fare network in the Asia Pacific, with airline hubs in Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.

This fiscal year, officials project that Jetstar will carry about 20 million passengers.