Air Asia X has confirmed its order it made at Farnborough 2014 for new Airbus A330neo aircraft, with the airline to order 55 aircraft instead of original fifty that were signed for.
Air Asia X Airbus A330-900neo – Rendering Airbus
The order for 55 A330neo aircraft is the biggest single order of the type so far from an airline company, as well as making Air Asia X the largest operator of the A330 series aircraft when all 91 A330’s (the 19 currently in the fleet and the 24 A330-300 on order).
The airline currently operates A330-300 series aircraft, with orders for A350-900s on the books too.
Air Asia X will be the launch customer of the A330-900neo, which will be powered by Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines.
With the aircraft, Air Asia X will be using the aircraft to launch more long haul services. However, expect these aircraft to be rammed full of seats as the airline operates 9 across seating in its economy class cabin – compared to the normal 8 across in the economy cabin. This means for those who normally enjoy the extra width an A330 has with an 17.5″ to 18″ seat will endure a tighter 16.5″ seat width.
Deliveries of the aircraft will commence in 2018.
The big question is what routes will these aircraft end up flying on – knowing Air Asia, there’s going to be a very aggressive push along the way.
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