AirAsia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for up to 70 Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
The MoU with Airbus is valued at USD12.25 billion. It will cover a firm order for 50 A321XLRs with purchase rights for 20 A321XLRs when formally completed.
Witnessed by Prime Minister of Malaysia YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the agreement was signed in Paris between Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, and Christian Scherer, CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft.
With this agreement, the airline takes a major step towards becoming the world’s first low-cost narrow-body network carrier, anchored by its multi-hub strategy. They will be used to serve longer-range, underserved routes more efficiently, including into Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
The next-generation A321XLRs will operate alongside AirAsia’s all-Airbus fleet of A320 Family and A330 aircraft, supporting its long-term strategy to deliver unmatched connectivity across Asia and beyond, while maintaining a low-cost model.
AirAsia Group aims to carry 150 million guests annually by 2030, reaching a cumulative total of 1.5 billion guests since inception.
The aircraft are scheduled for delivery commencing 2028 through 2032.
This MoU is the first the airline has made since COVID-19.
In Quotes
Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A and Advisor & Steward of AirAsia Group said:
“We pioneered low-cost travel in Asia – now, we are taking it to the next level. AirAsia is on a transformative journey to become the world’s first low-cost network carrier. This is about exponential growth, connecting geographies beyond Asean, and making flying even more democratic. We gave people in Asean the opportunity to explore Asia – now we want the world to see Asean, and Asean to see the world. The A321XLR and A321LR are the game-changers enabling this vision, and we are proud to lead the charge in making our world smaller. We can’t wait to paint the skies even wider in red.”
Christian Scherer, CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus said:
“We are pleased to confirm this agreement, as AirAsia Group begins its next development chapter. Having resumed its growth trajectory, which we salute and support, the airline is creating solid fleet efficiencies, allowing global network expansion. The A321XLR unlocks new opportunities for AirAsia to launch non-stop flights linking primary and secondary cities all around the globe.”
Trying the long-haul play… again…
It’s interesting to watch AirAsia try its hand at the long-haul game. With AirAsiaX set to be unified with the main airline in the future, its long-haul map will need an overhaul. Currently, it serves Perth, Sydney, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shanghai-Pudong, Delhi, Denpasar (Bali), Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo-Haneda, Almaty, Karachi, Singapore-Changi, Seoul-Incheon, and Taipei-Taoyuan through its long-haul arm.
That’s not going to keep a fleet of 50+20 Airbus A321XLRs busy, so I’d expect a lot of interesting routes to start up, especially if AirAsia can establish further hubs west of its current bases.
Interesting times, as some would say.
We’ll have to wait for the formal order to be signed and see what interiors AirAsia goes for to support its long-haul growth.
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