Thai AirAsia has taken delivery of a new Airbus A321neo, marking the resumption of aircraft deliveries for the AirAsia Group after a hiatus of close to four years.
The aircraft (HS-EAC) landed in Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport on 29 June after a delivery flight from Airbus’s Hamburg facility.
It is the 54th aircraft in Thai AirAsia’s fleet and its third A321neo, according to Cirium fleets data. While the Bangkok-based operator has not disclosed plans for the new jet, flight-tracking data shows the aircraft is scheduled to begin domestic flights from 5 July, including to Krabi and Chiang Rai.
The low-cost group, which also has units in Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia and Indonesia, is expected to take delivery of four new A321neos this year; three more are expected to enter the fleet in the fourth quarter.
In February, the group confirmed it had swapped a number of its on-order A321neos for A321LRs.
In total, 62 A321neos will be converted, one for one, to the longer-range variant. AirAsia has 326 A321neos on order.
Writing on LinkedIn, chief executive of AirAsia parent Capital A Tony Fernandes says the delivery is “a big day” and a “huge feat” for the airline group that was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
