Industry AirAsia X orders 34 additional Airbus A330neo

The deal was signed by Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Co-Founder and AirAsia X Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Chairman of AirAsia X and Eric Schulz, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer during the Farnborough International Airshow 2018 (#FIA2018).

After this additional order, AirAsia X expects to take delivery of 100 Airbus A330neo aircraft in total. The agreement reaffirms, that AirAsia X is the largest airline customer for the new aircraft family.

The aircraft will help the airline to grow its long-haul non-stop services to Europe. For example, the carrier will use the aircraft on the route from Kuala Lumpur to London. AirAsia X expects to take delivery of its first A330neo next year.

Furthermore, the carrier will become the first Asian A330neo operator with deliveries planned to start in the fourth quarter of 2019. The A330neos will be stationed at AirAsia X´s bases in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

AirAsia Co-Founder and AirAsia X Group Chief Executive Officer Kamarudin Meranun said: "Long haul low-cost is something we strongly believe in, and this order shows our confidence in the AirAsia X model. We lobbied hard for the A330neo after seeing the success of the A320neo, and working closely with Airbus, we have arrived at an aircraft that we are confident will allow us to expand our low fares offering beyond Asia Pacific to the rest of the world.”

Eric Schulz, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer added “We are extremely pleased to announce this important agreement with AirAsia X. This is the strongest possible endorsement for the unbeatable operating economics, performance and cost-effectiveness that the A330neo brings to the market in its size category."

The A330neo is Airbus´ latest version of the A330 twin-aisle aircraft. It features good operational costs, fuel efficiency and is environmentally friendlier. The aircraft is being powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. With the state-of-the-art engines and enhancements, a 25 per cent of fuel consumption is being targeted.

AirAsia X is a long-haul low-cost carrier, headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Sepang in Malaysia. The carrier is a fully owned subsidiary of Air Asia and was founded 11 years ago in 2007. AirAsia X operates with a fleet of 22 Airbus A330-300 but plans to add leased A330s this year.