Malaysia: AirAsia announces $30bn deal for 100 Airbus planes
Malaysian budget airline AirAsia today announced an additional order of 34 Airbus A330neo planes, bringing the total value of its expanded 100-plane order to $30 billion. The first delivery of the fuel-efficient widebody jets will arrive towards the end of 2019 and will allow the airline to take on longer non-stop routes to Europe, AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes stated. Here's more.
Fernandes says AirAsia can now start the London route
"We can now start the London route. This plane allows us to fly to Brazil, Namibia, and anywhere we want," Fernandes said. The Kuala Lumpur-London route was dropped in 2012 due to low demand and high fuel prices.
Planes will replace older first generation A330s
The new aircraft will be used by AirAsia's long-haul arm, AirAsia X, replacing its older first-generation A330s. "We lobbied hard for the A330neo after seeing A320neo's success, and working closely with Airbus, we have arrived at an aircraft that will allow us to expand our low fares offering beyond Asia Pacific to the rest of the world," AirAsia X Chief Executive Kamarudin Meranun said.
AirAsia is now the biggest Asian customer of Airbus
The deal makes AirAsia the biggest Asian customer of European aviation giant Airbus, which has been locked in a tight battle for dominance with US rival Boeing.
