AirAsia locks in 50-plane Airbus order, eyes MENA airport hubs

AirAsia to buy 50 planes from Airbus: Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia has signed an MoU with Airbus to purchase 50 long-range A321XLR planes with conversion rights for another 20 of the single-aisle jets, Reuters reported last week. The agreement grants AirAsia the flexibility to change an existing order for a different aircraft type into an order for an additional 20 A321XLRs. The airline’s new orders in July could go up to 150 jets, the newswire reported, quoting CEO Tony Fernandes.

REMEMBER- The Malaysian-based airline was planning to acquire some 50-70 A321 jets over the next one to three months, Fernandes said last month. AirAsia is also planning to order around 100 smaller model jets from either Airbus or Embraer.

Regional and global expansion: AirAsia aspires to use long-range aircraft to launch flights to North America and Europe with budget prices, Fernandes said. AirAsia is in talks with four cities in the Middle East, Europe and Asia-Pacific, the newswire reports. The company is eyeing locations in the Gulf to set up hub airports, including in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah, Fernandes told Dubai Eye last week.

PIF-backing: Saudi’s PIF pledged to invest USD 100 mn in AirAsia back in March, making it the biggest contributor to the airline’s USD 226 mn fundraising target. The move is expected to give PIF’s Riyadh Air some of AirAsia’s many delivery slots in its orderbook, alleviating the Malaysian airline’s financing strain while giving Riyadh Air planes needed for its 3Q 2025 launch.