There isn’t a more passionate or enthusiastic driver of Asia aviation than the irrepressible Tony Fernandes. Regardless of the role is on his business card he’s the undoubted face of AirAsia and its tentacles across the Southeast Asian region.
High hopes for the Philippines
Last week Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, was within the Philippines telling a Town Hall meeting of the faithful how vital the operation there was to the group. He also identified that the Philippines is a vital destination for the group’s expansion plans throughout Asia and beyond, and why that is nice news for AirAsia Philippines.
Photo: AirAsia
AirAsia Philippines will add more aircraft, including its first widebodies, to enable this rapid growth and expand three hubs within the country. It’s one thing to speak about renewing the fleet and one other to get hold of latest aircraft, with airlines globally chasing OEMs for deliveries on this supply-chain disrupted world.
AirAsia is a tried and true operator of Airbus aircraft, and while this loyalty will carry significant weight in delivery negotiations, Fernandes said he has one other ace up his sleeve.
“We’ve got an order book of over 400 planes, and that order book starts next 12 months with a delivery of 5 A321s over the subsequent few years. As for the Philippines, it’s the mixture of getting some leased and latest aircraft.”
Photo: AirAsia
In an announcement, the corporate said AirAsia Philippines is now flying 16 of its Airbus A320-200s and “targets to double by 2024 and add widebody aircraft to further grow its reach and capability.” AirAsia Aviation still has significant numbers of aircraft parked, and Capital A’s maintenance business, Asia Digital Engineering is adding more capability to hurry up that reactivation process.
Growth across the country
Data from shows that AirAsia Philippines (AAP) has around ten A320-200s still on the inactive list, that are essential elements within the plan to double capability by 2024. It operates to 11 domestic and 13 international destinations and plans to expand three hubs to accommodate more routes and growth. The hubs are at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), Clark International Airport (CRK) and Kalibo International Airport (KLO).
Photo: Tupungato/Shutterstock
As for the post-COVID recovery and prospects for tourism within the Philippines, Fernandes had a straightforward but strong message,
Parent group Capital A had a wonderful first quarter with RM2.5 billion ($546 million) in revenues, and the AirAsia Aviation Group now has 157 aircraft flying to 165 destinations in 25 countries.
Have you ever been on an AirAsia Philippines flight recently? Allow us to learn about it within the comments.
Source: ch-aviation.com
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AirAsia X is putting increased emphasis on diversifying its revenue sources, including putting a greater emphasis on freight. Photo: Getty Images
AirAsia
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AK/AXM
- Airline Type:
- Low-Cost Carrier
- 12 months Founded:
- 1993
- CEO:
- Riad Asmat
- Country:
- Malaysia
