AirAsia’s A321neo deliveries resume after pandemic hiatus

Thai AirAsia has taken delivery of a new Airbus A321neo, marking the resumption of aircraft deliveries for the AirAsia Group after a hiatus of close to four years. The aircraft (HS-EAC) landed in Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport on 29 June after a delivery flight from Airbus’s Hamburg facility. It is the 54th aircraft in Thai AirAsia’s fleet and its third A321neo, according to Cirium fleets data. While the Bangkok-based operator has not disclosed plans for the new jet, flight-tracking data shows the aircraft is scheduled to begin domestic flights from 5 July, including to Krabi and Chiang Rai. The low-cost group, which also has units in Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia and Indonesia, is expected to take delivery of four new A321neos this year; three more are expected to enter the fleet in Q4. In February, the group confirmed it had swapped a number of its on-order A321neos for A321LRs. In total, 62 A321neos will be converted, one for one, to the longer-range variant. AirAsia has 326 A321neos on order. <br/>