On Wednesday, AirAsia Group announced it has converted the remaining orders of Airbus A320 aircraft to the longer, new generation Airbus A321neo jets, reaffirming the airline’s commitment to more fuel efficient and higher capacity aircraft.
According to the low-cost airline, AirAsia currently has 13 unfulfilled orders for the A320 aircraft from Airbus. The conversion of this order raises AirAsia’s total orders to 362 A321neo aircraft.
AirAsia’s A321neo fleet will be equipped with 236 seats in a single-class configuration, one of the densest seating capacities in the world. The aircraft will also be equipped with Airbus’ Space-Flex Cabin that allows for a more efficient configuration of the cabin space.
The aircraft orders will be distributed among the various airlines in the group, which includes the Philippines. With the first one arriving in 2019, the A321neo orders are expected to arrive gradually until 2035.
Bo Lingam, President (Airlines) of AirAsia Group said: “Our airline network and fleet strategy has been thoroughly reviewed to ensure flying on the most popular and profitable routes as we prepare for travel resumption across our network. Our business model is robust, and there is a lot of pent-up demand. We are confident that our airlines will be able to rebound and recover strongly as soon as travel restrictions are lifted.
“We have always been in close engagement with Airbus and we look forward to a full A321neo fleet conversion that will further solidify our lowest cost base and lean cost structure. The A321neo will revolutionise the flying experience for our guests as we accelerate our business to meet a resurgence in air travel post-Covid-19. The A321neo is a leader in its category and it will enable AirAsia to serve the demand across our network with significant operational efficiencies, with more than 10% fuel savings. The A321neo also includes an additional 50 seats and extra cargo space, and will allow us to further reduce our cost per Available Seat Kilometre (ASK) across the group, which will be passed on as lower air fares for our guests.”
The new Airbus A321neo jets, which promises to bring fuel savings and shave carbon dioxide emissions, will replace the older Airbus A320 aircraft on AirAsia’s group-wide fleet.
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