French plane maker Airbus S.A.S announced yesterday that Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd. ordered an additional 14 A320ceo aircraft to cater to increasing demand.
Airbus said the deal with AirAsia, which has extensive operations in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, was announced during the 2017 Paris Air Show.
Following the order, AirAsia’s fleet of mid-range A320s will increase to 529 planes. It is the single largest airline customer for the A320, Airbus said in a statement.
To date, 171 A320ceo and eight A320neo have already been delivered to AirAsia and are operated by units in Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
“Demand is very strong in AirAsia’s traditional countries, but now we have Indonesia, Philippines and India doing extremely well. The robust demand has led us to expand our fleet, and Airbus has been a great partner in finding us slots,” AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said in the same statement.
“We still need to find more aircraft to expand our regional reach and are actively sourcing from the leasing market. The competitive environment is at its best, coupled with a stable oil price. With the lowest cost in the world, AirAsia is back on aggressive growth,” he added.
Airbus said the A320 family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line.
To date, it has won over 13,000 orders and more than 7,600 aircraft have been delivered to some 400 customers and operators worldwide.
With one aircraft in four sizes (A318, A319, A320 and A321), the A320 Family seats from 100 to 240 passengers.