AirAsia to resume Airbus A321neo deliveries in 2024 as growth returns

Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia plans to resume deliveries of 362 Airbus A321neos remaining on order starting in 2024, the chief executive of parent Capital A said, having postponed the arrivals during the pandemic. The airline, one of Airbus' biggest customers, had only taken four A321neos before COVID-19 decimated air travel. It last year agreed with Airbus to restructure the order with deliveries due through 2035, though it had not provided a start date for the resumption at that time. "We will...be taking delivery of the new Airbus A321neos from 2024, which will further reduce our emissions per seat by 20% while further driving our business growth," Capital A CE Tony Fernandes said late on Friday after the group posted a narrower Q2 operating loss. The airline said it operated 65 planes during the quarter ended June 30, up from just 15 a year earlier when there were lockdowns and widespread border closures throughout Southeast Asia. "As of August, a total of 108 operating aircraft have returned to the skies and this is expected to increase to 160 by the end of this year to support strong and growing consumer demand," AirAsia Aviation Group CE Bo Lingam said, adding a return to full operations was expected by Q2 2023. Capital A posted an operating loss of 491.3m ringgit ($110.03m) for the three months ended June 30, compared to a loss of 792.2m ringgit in the year-ago period.<br/>