Capital A expects to increase its fleet by nineteen A320s this year and return all remaining parked planes to service by August, according to Tony Fernandes, group CEO, has said.
“We have already signed up 19 aircraft, and are negotiating for more," Fernandes told media at the Paris Air Show. "AirAsia also expects to have all 204 of its aircraft reactivated by the end of August this year, and achieve 100% of pre-pandemic capacity in the coming months."
The group's airline interests include AirAsia, AirAsia X, Philippines AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia, and Thai AirAsia X. Later this year, in conjunction with a local investor, Capital A will launch AirAsia Cambodia. Fernandes says that he expects the first of the additional 19 aircraft to arrive in July. The ch-aviation fleets modules has already identified three of those aircraft. They are an ex-AirAsia Japan A320-200, formerly registered as JA01DJ (msn 6702), now stored at Kuala Lumpur International Airport; and two ex-AirAsia India A320-200s, VT-SXR (msn 4562) and VT-IXC (msn 5109), now also at Kuala Lumpur.
Beyond 2023, Fernandes says 362 A321-200NX are on order, with deliveries scheduled from 2024. He said the long-haul AirAsia X operations would get an additional fifteen 15 widebodies (the three AirAsia X airlines operate A330-300s) and "up to twenty" A321-200NY(XLR)s. He added that the A330s would also begin flying into the Philippines, albeit not specifying a timeline for this. Capital A's cargo and logistics business, Teleport, is also expected to take the first of three A321Fs in July.
Fernandes says the AirAsia stable of airlines is performing well, with services in and out of Thailand a standout. He likes that market for its short to medium-term growth prospects. The Capital A currently operates under Bursa Malaysia Practice Note 17 (PN17) status, which the stock exchange assigns to financially distressed listed companies. After almost 18 months as a PN17 company, Fernandes told media in Paris that he expects the group to exit the PN17 list later this year.
