HAMBURG, Nov 20 — Low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd is confident that its order of 353 Airbus A321neo will be the backbone of its operations and ultimately enabling it to offer lower fares to passengers.
Its senior manager for aircraft planning and evaluation, Matthew Glaus said the A321neo would allow it to offer higher capacity in response to ongoing strong demand across its network.
“The new aircraft gives us 50 more seats compared with the existing A320neo. So, we are able to lower fuel cost per seat for even lower fares and add up to 40 per cent more cargo,” he told reporters at the delivery ceremony of AirAsia’s first A321neo here today.
AirAsia Indonesia chief executive officer Veranita Yosephine and Airbus head of the A320 Family Michael Menking were present.
Glaus said the A321neo would benefit the airline in terms of operational efficiency as the planes would be deployed for slot-constrained sectors.
He said AirAsia would initially operate the aircraft from its Kuala Lumpur hub to cities across Asia, with the first destinations comprising Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, among others.
AirAsia’s A321neo features a single class layout with 236 seats in the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky, while the A320neo has 186 seats.
The aircraft delivered today is the first out of 353 A321neo ordered by the airline.
In July 2016, the airline announced that it ordered 100 A321neo, while in June this year, AirAsia stated that it would upsize and convert its 253 orders for the A320neo to the A321neo version.
The A321neo is a member of the best-selling A320 Family, delivering 20 per cent reduced fuel burn, as well as 50 per cent less noise compared to the previous generation aircraft.
At the end of October 2019, the A320neo Family received more than 7,000 firm orders from over 110 customers worldwide.
Meanwhile, the new aircraft made its way back to Kuala Lumpur from Hamburg after the delivery ceremony and is scheduled to arrive at klia2 tomorrow, carrying 50 media and AirAsia personnel. — Bernama
