SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd will take delivery of 275 Airbus A320 aircraft over the next 14 years as part of its fleet expansion, says CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
He said 200 aircraft will be the A320neo model while the A320 will account for the remaining 75 aircraft. They will complement AirAsia’s existing fleet of 100 aircraft, which together are worth US$25 billion (RM75.5 billion).
“The 200 A320neo have a market price of up to US$18 billion while the 75 A320 will have a market price of US$7 billion,” Fernandes told reporters after taking delivery of AirAsia’s 100th Airbus A320 aircraft at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal yesterday.
The latest delivery will make the budget carrier the largest Airbus A320 aircraft operator in Southeast Asia.
AirAsia has 58 Airbus A320 based in Malaysia, 22 in Thailand, 18 in Indonesia and two in the Philippines.
Fernandes said with the increase in the number of aircraft, AirAsia and AirAsia X will increase their flight frequencies to key destinations and introduce new routes.
“We will fly to Lombok, Indonesia, and focus on adding new routes in China.We have so far identified three destinations, Xiamen and two other routes.
Fernandes: It is also my aspiration to fly AirAsia to Sao Paolo, Brazil.
“It is also my aspiration to fly AirAsia to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have received numerous requests to fly there from Brazilians but I guess we will have to wait as it will take some time [to materialise].
“AirAsia X will have to wait for the right time and for the right type of aircraft. That’s the main reason why we have suspended our routes to London and Paris,” he said.
On passenger traffic, Fernandes said he is cautiously optimistic of AirAsia moving forward, hoping the budget airline will continue to register growth in numbers in tandem with many other budget airline operators worldwide.
“It’s very difficult to say. First quarter has been always a slow quarter for us. But I am positive,” he said.
In 2011, 29.86 million passengers travelled by AirAsia, up from 25.68 million passengers recorded by the airline in 2010.
Capacity jumped 13.5% to 37.51 million and load factor increased by 2% to 80%.
The AirAsia chief said the recent lawsuit against AirAsia X in Australia will not affect the sales performance of the low-cost carrier.
Fernandes said the lawsuit was a minor technical problem and would not result in any changes in the long-haul budget airline’s frequencies to Australia. AirAsia X currently flies to Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Earlier last month, a consumer watchdog in Australia sued the budget carrier for allegedly failing to disclose the full price of fares for flights from Australia.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took legal action against the airline the same day its executives were launching the fares for the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route with one-way fare from as low as A$99 (RM319).
“The issue concerns only four routes from hundreds of AirAsia and AirAsia X routes. It’s a small issue. The AirAsia X management has corrected it,” he said.
He said AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani is already eyeing the possibility of AirAsia going to Adelaide.
Fernandes said, meanwhile, the comprehensive collaboration framework between Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS), AirAsia and AirAsia X agreed last year will produce significant results in the next six months.
“The share swap deal, which included a collaboration agreement to explore opportunities on a broad range of areas between the entities, is special to AirAsia group.
“In the next six months, things will change significantly. MAS and AirAsia will jointly make Malaysia a powerhouse in the Asian aviation industry,” he said.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 3, 2012.
He said 200 aircraft will be the A320neo model while the A320 will account for the remaining 75 aircraft. They will complement AirAsia’s existing fleet of 100 aircraft, which together are worth US$25 billion (RM75.5 billion).
“The 200 A320neo have a market price of up to US$18 billion while the 75 A320 will have a market price of US$7 billion,” Fernandes told reporters after taking delivery of AirAsia’s 100th Airbus A320 aircraft at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal yesterday.
The latest delivery will make the budget carrier the largest Airbus A320 aircraft operator in Southeast Asia.
AirAsia has 58 Airbus A320 based in Malaysia, 22 in Thailand, 18 in Indonesia and two in the Philippines.
Fernandes said with the increase in the number of aircraft, AirAsia and AirAsia X will increase their flight frequencies to key destinations and introduce new routes.
“We will fly to Lombok, Indonesia, and focus on adding new routes in China.We have so far identified three destinations, Xiamen and two other routes.
Fernandes: It is also my aspiration to fly AirAsia to Sao Paolo, Brazil.
“It is also my aspiration to fly AirAsia to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I have received numerous requests to fly there from Brazilians but I guess we will have to wait as it will take some time [to materialise].
“AirAsia X will have to wait for the right time and for the right type of aircraft. That’s the main reason why we have suspended our routes to London and Paris,” he said.
On passenger traffic, Fernandes said he is cautiously optimistic of AirAsia moving forward, hoping the budget airline will continue to register growth in numbers in tandem with many other budget airline operators worldwide.
“It’s very difficult to say. First quarter has been always a slow quarter for us. But I am positive,” he said.
In 2011, 29.86 million passengers travelled by AirAsia, up from 25.68 million passengers recorded by the airline in 2010.
Capacity jumped 13.5% to 37.51 million and load factor increased by 2% to 80%.
The AirAsia chief said the recent lawsuit against AirAsia X in Australia will not affect the sales performance of the low-cost carrier.
Fernandes said the lawsuit was a minor technical problem and would not result in any changes in the long-haul budget airline’s frequencies to Australia. AirAsia X currently flies to Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Earlier last month, a consumer watchdog in Australia sued the budget carrier for allegedly failing to disclose the full price of fares for flights from Australia.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took legal action against the airline the same day its executives were launching the fares for the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route with one-way fare from as low as A$99 (RM319).
“The issue concerns only four routes from hundreds of AirAsia and AirAsia X routes. It’s a small issue. The AirAsia X management has corrected it,” he said.
He said AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani is already eyeing the possibility of AirAsia going to Adelaide.
Fernandes said, meanwhile, the comprehensive collaboration framework between Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS), AirAsia and AirAsia X agreed last year will produce significant results in the next six months.
“The share swap deal, which included a collaboration agreement to explore opportunities on a broad range of areas between the entities, is special to AirAsia group.
“In the next six months, things will change significantly. MAS and AirAsia will jointly make Malaysia a powerhouse in the Asian aviation industry,” he said.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 3, 2012.
