Long-range jet deal to revive AirAsia’s plans to fly to the US, Europe — Fernandes
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): AirAsia’s newly ordered 50 extra-long-range narrowbody aircraft will help the airline offer low-cost flights to the US and Europe, Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.
On Friday (July 4), AirAsia Bhd signed a US$12.25 billion (RM51.71 billion) deal to buy 50 Airbus A321XLR long-range jets. The deal also includes the option to convert 20 more jets in the future.
With an additional three hours of flight time and higher fuel efficiency versus the A321neo, Fernandes said the new planes enable a low-cost long-range offering to expand AirAsia’s reach, allowing the airline to reach Europe via a one-stop flight in the Middle East and a two-stop flight to the US.
“This order enables us to have a narrowbody fleet that can cover the world. Obviously with a narrowbody fleet, with efficiency, we believe our fares to the rest of the world will be very, very, very competitive, and we will open up whole new markets,” Fernandes told members of the media.
Fernandes noted that the goal is to provide flights to Europe and the US at half the price of what is currently available in the market. “The goal here is not to take anyone’s market share, it is to allow people to fly to places they never dreamt of flying to.”
AirAsia, which operated long haul flights under AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) previously, has not operated flights to Europe since 2012 and to the US since 2020.
On a 10-year horizon, Fernandes noted that AirAsia plans to expand its fleet to comprise more than 500 purely narrowbody planes from its current 255 narrowbody and widebody aircraft.
Meanwhile, within the next five years, the aviation group plans to raise annual passengers carried to 130 million from 70 million currently, and boost destinations served to 175 from 143.
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