The low-cost carrier of Malaysia, which is one of Europe’s top five corporate export customers, will not be taking any further deliveries of the Airbus jets this year. The airline will also be reviewing its remaining orders.
Impacted by the pressures of COVID-19 pandemic, AirAsia said that its decision comes in light of the sharp fall in demand.
According to a Reuters report, Airbus has put six jets up for sale last week after giving up on AirAsia taking delivery of them.
The carrier is one of Airbus’s largest customers, with orders for 349 A321neo jets and 13 A320neo planes yet to be delivered to the main airline. They would be worth about US$46 billion at today’s list prices, though in practice airlines win discounts above 50 per cent for such large orders, market sources say.
AirAsia expects to end 2020 with 242 aircraft in its fleet, down one from last year, Executive Chairman Kamarudin Meranun said in a statement.
AirAsia said it had resumed domestic flights in Malaysia on Wednesday and hoped to do so in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia in May, subject to approval from authorities.
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