AirAsia close to buying at least 100 Airbus jets

PARIS: AirAsia is in advanced discussions to place an order for at least 100 Airbus jets at next week’s Paris Airshow, a deal likely to mark the introduction to its fleet of the planemaker’s smallest jet, the A220, industry sources said.

Malaysia-based low-cost carrier AirAsia operates an all-Airbus fleet and has previously said it was looking to add smaller planes for regional routes.

A deal cannot be guaranteed as negotiations continue and the airline has also been in touch with Brazil’s Embraer, which has been looking for a new home for some of its E2 jets after Malaysia’s SKS halted operations earlier this year, the sources said, adding that discussions had widened in recent weeks.

AirAsia, Airbus and Embraer all declined to comment.

One of Airbus’s biggest customers with over 350 planes on order, AirAsia has not placed an order since before the pandemic but ended a gap in deliveries by taking four Airbus jets last August, marking what it described as a new growth milestone.

It has been steadily restructuring its order book as it faced financial difficulties.

The company, hard hit by pandemic travel restrictions, was classified by Malaysia’s stock exchange as financially distressed in 2022. It says it hopes to exit this status by the middle of this year as it pursues a recovery.

Capital A plans to sell its AirAsia aviation business to long-haul unit AirAsia X to consolidate long and short-haul operations under a single AirAsia brand.