AirAsia orders 25 Airbus A320s

AirAsia has placed a firm order for an additional 25 A320s. The latest contract brings AirAsia Group's (Malaysia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia) total orders to 175 A320 aircraft.

AirAsia placed its original order for 60 A320s in March 2005, with re-orders for an additional 40 aircraft announced at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2006 and another 50 aircraft in January 2007. The first aircraft was delivered to AirAsia in December 2005, with the airline currently operating 31 A320s on a rapidly expanding domestic and regional network.

AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur hub is fully operated with A320s and the aircraft is expected to completely replace Thai AirAsia’s and Indonesia AirAsia’s old generation Boeing 737 fleets by 2008.

Group CEO of Air Asia Bhd, Datuk Tony Fernandes said, "This purchase is an important step for us at AirAsia as it signifies our future aggressive route expansion plans in tandem to our expected traffic growth over the next decade. It also demonstrates our commitment to enhance AirAsia’s position on our networks by incorporating the most modern and efficient aircraft in the market."

John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer - Customers added, "We have been extremely proud to be part of AirAsia’s outstanding success and delighted that the confidence in the A320 has resulted in the airline now becoming the largest airline customer for this aircraft in the world. With its unbeatable economics and enormous passenger appeal, I am confident that the large A320 fleet is destined to propel AirAsia to the forefront of industry in the years ahead."

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