The orders are a blow to Boeing, which is struggling with a sprawling manufacturing crisis that has caused it to limit narrow-body jet production, making it harder to catch up to its European rival.
Japan Airlines said it would buy 21 wide-body A350-900 and 11 A321neo narrow-body jets from Airbus, which will provide smaller single-aisle jets to the longtime Boeing customer for the first time.
The order from Japan's second-largest airline allows Airbus to grow its foothold on a part of its rival's turf following a breakthrough first order of A350 wide-body, or twin-aisle, jets used on longer international routes just over a decade ago.
JAL also said it would buy 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.
South Korea's largest carrier, Korean Air, also said it would order 33 A350s in a $13.7 billion deal – its first purchase of that aircraft family as it prepares for a merger with Asiana Airlines, another South Korean carrier.
The limited Boeing orders were not a direct result of the planemaker's troubles, a source familiar with JAL's order said. However, the risk of delays due to those troubles could not be entirely ignored, and JAL wanted to diversify risk by not relying on one plane manufacturer, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Deals for plane orders typically take months to negotiate.
