AirAsia to resume A321neo deliveries in June; mulls A321LRs, A350s in long-term

AirAsia Aviation expects to resume deliveries of new Airbus A321neos this year, as the newly-merged carrier continues to return stored aircraft to service. According to updated fleet plans, the airline will take delivery of seven examples this year, with another 19 to be delivered in 2025. AirAsia Aviation advisor Tony Fernandes says deliveries will resume in June, “provided there are no more delays”, referring to ongoing supply chain issues affecting the aerospace sector. Fernandes, who founded AirAsia more than 20 years ago, was speaking at a press conference on 8 January, where he announced the merger of AirAsia with medium-haul unit AirAsia X. The airline has an orderbook of more than 370 A321neos, coupled with commitments for 20 A330neos and 15 A321XLRs, both of which were formerly under AirAsia X’s orderbook. Fernandes also discloses that the airline is “looking at” whether to convert some of the A321neo commitments into longer-range A321LR orders. “That gives us a lot of flexibility if we do that. We can start going to a lot more places [with the A321LR],” he adds. In the long-term, the A321neos will fully replace the existing fleet of more than 200 A320s currently operated by the short-haul AirAsia units. <br/>