KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — AirAsia Bhd's share price rose on the news that the company has signed a firm order with Airbus for the purchase of 100 A321neo aircraft, marking the first order by the low-cost carrier for the largest model in the best-selling A320 Family.
At 11.01am, AirAsia Bhd was two sen higher at RM2.73, with 21.66 million shares changing hands.
The announcement at the Farnborough Airshow in England yesterday sees the total number of A320 Family ordered by AirAsia rising to 575, reaffirming its position as the largest airline customer for the Airbus single-aisle product line.
Seating up to 240 passengers in a single class layout, the A321neo will enable the airline to increase capacity while benefiting from the lowest operating costs in the single-aisle category.
Kenanga Research recently upgraded its ratings for the aviation sector from neutral to overweight, supported by AirAsia Bhd's low fuel cost, better yields and load factor on stronger travel demand coupled with lower earnings risks from associates.
The research house has chosen AirAsia to be among its top 10 picks for the first time this coming quarter.
It said AirAsia is ready to chart another strong quarter ahead, supported by the low cost, improvement in yields, improved load factor underpinned by strong travel demands and better contribution from its associates, arising from load factor and yields that were driven by strong travel growth from associates. — Bernama
