AirAsia laid out its vision to establish the world’s inaugural low-cost network carrier, leveraging its 22-year track record of success and its distinctive multi-hub strategy. The revelation was made during the visit of Christian Scherer, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Aircraft business of Airbus, to RedQ — AirAsia’s corporate headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The event saw a vibrant welcoming ceremony attended by hundreds of AirAsia staff, CEOs, and management, as they greeted Scherer, marking his first visit as CEO to the home of the airline’s 6,000-strong team known as Allstars.
The occasion not only celebrated the enduring 20-year partnership between Airbus and AirAsia but also highlighted the latter’s status as the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline, a title it has held for an impressive 14 consecutive years, as voted by Skytrax. With close to 800 million guests flown to date, AirAsia has become a formidable force in the aviation industry.
All of our achievements, including becoming one of the largest and most popular airlines in the world, have been possible with our great partnership with Airbus. Their versatile aircraft provide the best fit for our network expansion plan, with the continuous developments and improvements to the aircraft, improved fuel efficiency, increase in payload, and in range capabilities, all of which offer unrivaled economics for our commitment to consistently deliver the best value, high-quality service.
“We look forward to expanding our narrow-body fleet with the introduction of the A321XLR and exploring opportunities with the A321LR, which will gradually replace our workhorse A320 predecessor over the coming years from our key hubs including Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, and more. These new specification aircraft will enable greater flexibility on existing short to medium-haul routes and network expansion to places we have never flown before, including to exciting secondary markets such as North Asia, Australia, and Central Asia from Southeast Asia. With our wide-body Airbus A330 fleet including the introduction of A330neo, we are also looking to expand our medium to long-haul network to the European continent, to cities like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Africa (Cairo, Nairobi, Cape Town), East Coast North America (New York, Miami, Toronto) via Europe and West Coast North America (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver) via Japan,” according to Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A.
The unveiling of plans to transform into the world’s premier low-cost network carrier signals a new era for AirAsia. The airline aims to operate on a hub and spoke model, with additional virtual hubs extending across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the United States in the foreseeable future.
From its modest beginning with only two aircraft in 2001, AirAsia has rapidly evolved into an all-Airbus fleet, strategically adopting the best-suited aircraft type for the low-cost model prevalent in the region. This strategic decision has facilitated a unique multi-hub strategy, encompassing the Group’s airlines in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The newest addition, AirAsia Cambodia, is poised to take flight in the coming months.
In response to robust forecasted demand, AirAsia is set to resume its Airbus A321neo deliveries this year. The first post-pandemic delivery is anticipated in June. Notably, AirAsia is positioned to be one of the largest operators of this new-generation, longer-range, fuel-efficient narrow-body aircraft. The introduction of this cutting-edge specification is poised to revolutionize the aviation landscape, reinforcing AirAsia’s commitment to innovation and leadership in the low-cost carrier sector.