SINGAPORE: Low-cost airline AirAsia plans to enlarge its operations in Indonesia and the Philippines beyond their pre-pandemic levels by the first quarter of next year, riding on better tourism and connectivity prospects.
Capital A Bhd
chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the huge tourism potential and economic performances are among the drivers for AirAsia’s growth in both countries over the next five years.
Although the airline has a positive outlook for Indonesia and the Philippines, it will not cut its fleet operations in Malaysia and Thailand.
“We need the aircraft in Malaysia and Thailand; it is just that Indonesia and the Philippines are really growing very well and we want to grow them to a bigger size,” he said, as reported by Bernama.
AirAsia has a current fleet size of 205 and it would like to increase that to 300 planes over the next five years. It will begin to take delivery of 362 Airbus 321neo starting 2024.
On its cargo operations, he said AirAsia’s logistic arm Teleport will contribute significantly to the group’s growth in the next five years with 50 freighters in service.
The group is resuming its order for four Airbus 321 full freighters, with the first delivery expected in December 2022.
“There is a real opportunity here, similar to what we did for passenger services. We basically opened up a whole new market – 60% of our routes today are new.
“We can do exactly the same for logistics and we think cargo is going to be a very large part of our life in Changi and also around our network,” he said.
Separately, AirAsia expects its Malaysia-Singapore operations to fully recover by the first quarter of 2023 (1Q23) following the resumption of its service in Changi Airport’s state-of-the-art and fully-automated Terminal 4 (T4).
AirAsia Bhd chief executive officer Riad Asmat said the airline aims for its operations to recover to 80% of the pre-pandemic level by December 2022, with 20 daily flights from the current 15 flights per day.
“Considering the constraints in terms of aircraft number and challenges with the maintenance, repair, and operations capabilities in Malaysia to get a plane serviced, getting the aircraft airworthy and (ensuring) the safety of passengers are our top priorities.
“Right now, we need to allocate the aircraft to accommodate the current demand and we are doing it in a very careful way,” he told Malaysian reporters after a ceremony to celebrate AirAsia’s resumption of operation at T4 yesterday.
The airline had been operating from Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 since the pandemic began.
As for its expansion plans, Riad said the group will be allocating new aircraft according to the demand and requirements across its operations, adding that the plan to expand its operations in Indonesia and the Philippines are also on the table and that Malaysia will not be left out.
He said there are 90 aircraft currently in service to meet the demand in Malaysia.
“Based on the current demand and situation, having 90 aircraft is more than sufficient to last at least another year,” said Riad.
AirAsia’s resumption of operations at T4 was marked by the arrival of flight AK703 from Kuala Lumpur at 8:25am local time.
AirAsia passengers account for more than one-eighth of the total number of passenger arrivals at Changi Airport.
The return to T4 will provide opportunities for AirAsia airlines to add more services to meet strong demand and enable them to achieve a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels in the near future.
In celebration of its return to T4, AirAsia is offering flights from Singapore to many popular destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Miri, Bangkok and Phuket, with base fares starting from just S$38 (RM122.53).
