AirAsia welcomes four new A321neos fuelling growth

AirAsia is set to resume its growth trajectory with the arrival of four new A321neos, which went straight into service. With the addition of these four A321neos, AirAsia Group now has a total fleet of 221 aircraft, including eight operational A321neos serving AirAsia Malaysia and Thailand.  *AirAsia Group refers to AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines, and AirAsia Cambodia

More new A321neos on the way

Speaking at the launch event, CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group, Bo Lingam said the Group expects delivery of five more A321neos by the end of the year. He added that…

…. This year marks a pivotal year for AirAsia’s growth as we resume our Airbus A321neo deliveries, aligning with the strong forecast demand. These new aircraft are game-changers, allowing us to enhance our route network, offer longer-range flights, and improve operational efficiency.

He also acknowledged their leasor,AerCap and Airbus …..

…. We are also proud to be working with AerCap, the largest aviation leasing company in the world known for its extensive portfolio and global reach which underscores the industry confidence in our growth trajectory, while Airbus remains instrumental in our expansion plans over the next five years.

The much anticipated arrival of the four aircraft gives the two airlines in Malaysia and Thailand, greater flexibility on short to medium-haul routes such as Kuching, Tawau, Shenzhen, Kunming, Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai. The aircraft is slightly larger than its predecessors and will carry an extra 50 passengers, useful on busy routes.

As the longest-fuselage aircraft of the Airbus’ single-aisle A320 fleet, the A321neo’s advanced technology and fuel efficiency align with AirAsia’s goals of reducing operational costs and maintain passengers’ travel experience. The aircraft’s versatility allows it to land at smaller airports, serve secondary cities, and scale up operations with 30% lower costs compared to wide-body aircraft.

The A321neo aircraft will be a key enabler for AirAsia’s Fly-thru services that have been integral to the airline’s network growth. AirAsia’s Fly-Thru guests have grown to 18% this year, and with the new aircraft, this is expected to increase to 25% by 2025. Bo Lingam also noted that the AirAsia fleet is expected to exceed 300 aircraft within the next five years, carrying over 100 million guests annually. This expansion marks the beginning of AirAsia’s new era as the world’s first low-cost network carrier, connecting Asean with the world.

In the first half of 2024, AirAsia launched 20 new routes across the Group, serving over 130 destinations and carrying more than 31 million passengers, with an impressive load factor of 90%, demonstrating robust performance and resilience. Notably, AirAsia also launched a new airline in Cambodia which took off domestically on 2nd May. Within 3 months it has been able to begin international flights, the first of which landed in KLIA T2 at the end of the Launch event. The aircraft was welcomed by a traditional water salute as it pulled into the terminal.

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