Source: Aviation Week 

Airbus has finally broken through the 200 aircraft order ceiling for its A380s with Air Austral firming up its order for two of the megatransports.

The airline, which connects Paris to La Reunion and will use the A380 in a 840-seat configuration, also is considering further orders as it examines whether to expand service also to the French Caribbean. The A380s are powered by Engine Alliance GP7200s.

Additionally, Airbus announced an order from Nepal Airlines at the Dubai Airshow today. The carrier is buying one A320 and one A330 to replace its fleet of two 757s. The airline also has taken options for two more A320s, one further A330, and an option that has not been defined but could be an A330 if traffic patterns develop accordingly. "We are confident Nepal Airlines will expand its fleet," says Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy.

The fleet purchase comes after the Nepalese government changed strategy on attracting tourists. Having previously been content with letting foreign carriers do so, it now wants to do that, at least in part, with its own airlines, says the carrier's CEO Sugat Ratna Kansakar. Currently, the airline only has a 10% market share at home.

The first A320 is to arrive around September 2010, with the A330 to arrive in 2011.