EasyJet has signalled its confidence in future growth by ordering 36 additional A320 aircraft amid what it called resilient demand for flights.
This comes after the low fares airline reporting an 18% jump in annual profit on bumper summer holiday travel.
EasyJet said the new planes reflected its robust trading and the profitable opportunities it sees in its markets, adding that forward bookings were in line with last year.
For this winter, EasyJet's bigger rival Ryanair has talked of a fare war in the cut-throat European travel market, as airlines raise capacity and compete against each other in a lower fuel price environment.
But EasyJet said it would retain its profit momentum through growing passenger numbers 7% a year and controlling costs, adding that current market expectations are in line within the board's forecast for its 2016 financial year.
For the year ended September 2016, analysts are expecting EasyJet to report pretax profit of £746m, building on the pretax profit of £686m it made in the year earlier period.
That was in line with upgraded guidance of between £675-700m provided by EasyJet two months ago after strong demand for summer holidays and city breaks.
The new plane order was part of a decision by EasyJet to exercise the rights to 30 A320 NEOs from an existing deal with Airbus signed in 2013, plus an order for six extra current generation A320s.
