AirAsia has signed a firm order with Airbus for 100 A321neos. The deal, valued at $12.6bn, was confirmed at the Farnborough International Airshow on July 12 and increases the Malaysian low-cost carrier’s total commitments to 575 A320 Family aircraft.
Commenting on the order, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said: “We currently operate close to 1,000 flights per day to more than 120 destinations in 24 countries. We recorded a robust load factor of 85% in the first quarter of 2016, up 8% from the same period last year, and we are confident of maintaining this momentum going forward. The A321neo will help us to meet ongoing strong demand as well as further reduce our cost per Available Seat Kilometre across the group, which will translate to lower air fares for our guests. We would like to congratulate Airbus for producing the state-of-the-art A321neo aircraft that meets our requirements for efficient operations.”
AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes and Airbus President and CEO Fabrice Brégier. (Airbus)
Fernandes added: “The A321neo will be operated on our most popular routes and especially at airports with infrastructure constraints. It will allow us to bring higher passenger volumes with the same slots, therefore providing immediate benefits to the airports. These include, among others, more efficient operations, higher revenues from passenger service charges, and more airport retail purchases. We will also continue to maintain our 25-minute turnaround with two- or three-step boarding where permitted to ensure on-time performance.”
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