AirAsia Announces Airbus Order Changes

AirAsia recently welcomed Airbus’ newly appointed CEO of the Commerical Aircraft Business to RedQ and allowed the airline to unveil order changes and bold new plans.

Airbus and AirAsia

Tony Fernandes, the CEO of Capital A, known as the umbrella company for the AirAsia group, said that the relationship between Airbus is fantastic. Additionally, this relationship has enabled AirAsia to reach the heights it’s currently at.

The current AirAsia fleet is substantial. However, the reality is that the fleet consists of only Airbus-produced planes with the A320 and A321 series present. When examining the broader Group’s fleet commitments to the A330 also exist.

Per fleet data, the broader AirAsia group has 193 aircraft in service with 45 aircraft parked, totalling 238 units. Of the parked aircraft, there are eight A320neos and 34 A320-200s.

Order Adjustments

As part of the visit from Airbus, AirAsia also took the time to update its fleet to include the A321LR over the A321neo now to help reach future growth and enable new operations with the range capabilities.

A total of 36 orders have been converted to the A321LR, which, while substantial, isn’t near the total commitment to the overall 362 of the A321neo series. These new engined aircraft are going to be hugely important in the future.

Deliveries for the A321LR are expected to begin only next year, in 2025, with the capabilities meaning it can phase out the older A320s. The more efficient A321LRs bring higher range and capacity and will complement the A321XLR once that enters service.

Rapid Expansion To Come

The newly announced order re-jig will also enable future expansion to more locations globally. These new routes to be announced will see AirAsia become an even more global airline.

Specifically, AirAsia hopes to fly to Kenya and Africa by year-end. This will be possible through new aircraft deliveries and the easing pressure on existing units.

However, focusing more on the A321LR, the airline says the jets will enhance service flexibility across short and medium-haul routes. These LRs, once delivered, will likely be deployed towards markets such as North, Central and Southeast Asia while deploying to Australian cities.

Ultimately, for AirAsia, many other locations are being targeted. However, these will all come with time. The airline remains optimistic about its future outlook and is excited by what the next decade will look like.