AirAsia Aviation expects to resume deliveries of new Airbus A321neos this year, as the newly-merged carrier continues to return stored aircraft to service.
According to updated fleet plans, the airline will take delivery of seven examples this year, with another 19 to be delivered in 2025.
AirAsia Aviation advisor Tony Fernandes says deliveries will resume in June, “provided there are no more delays”, referring to ongoing supply chain issues affecting the aerospace sector.
Fernandes, who founded AirAsia more than 20 years ago, was speaking at a press conference on 8 January, where he announced the merger of AirAsia with medium-haul unit AirAsia X.
The airline has an orderbook of more than 370 A321neos, coupled with commitments for 20 A330neos and 15 A321XLRs, both of which were formerly under AirAsia X’s orderbook.
Fernandes also discloses that the airline is “looking at” whether to convert some of the A321neo commitments into longer-range A321LR orders.
“That gives us a lot of flexibility if we do that. We can start going to a lot more places [with the A321LR],” he adds.
In the long-term, the A321neos will fully replace the existing fleet of more than 200 A320s currently operated by the short-haul AirAsia units.
While it is likely the merged carrier will operate two aircraft types – the A321s and A330s – Fernandes has hinted that the airline “probably will need another aircraft” type in its fleet as it expands its network further to cities in Europe, North and South America, adding that the A350 is a likely candidate for long-haul operations.
“We probably will need another aircraft type…because the A330 might not [have the range to fly to] parts of Europe and the USA. We would need the A350…I would imagine this would be in 2025,” Fernandes adds, responding to a question on when flights to USA might begin.
At the 2023 Paris air show, Fernandes told FlightGlobal that AirAsia would “definitely” place a large order during “the next two years”. He added that the group was looking at “potentially acquiring” more widebody aircraft as an immediate priority – pointing to a robust recovery in the medium-haul market.
