Airbus expects to miss its target of delivering 200 Airbus A320-family aircraft in 2017 because of ongoing issues surrounding the availability of engines.
Is mainland China set to become the principal battleground for AirAsia as the low-cost carrier sets its sights on growing its presence across booming north Asia? We investigate the rise of the low-cost airline group and how it is tweaking its strategy to support growth in new markets and the maturity of its existing network.
Despite making its retreat from the European market back in 2012 due to high fuel costs, airport taxes and weak demand, it has been AirAsia X’s ambition to return to the Continent with more fuel efficient twin engine equipment once market conditions improved.
As World Routes returns to mainland China, Routesonline is providing a snapshot on the leading international airlines and international airports and most used aircraft types on international flights from the country and highlights the country's top performers during the first half of 2016.
AirAsia has signed a firm order with Airbus for the purchase of 100 A321neo aircraft, its first order for the largest model of the A320 Family. Seating up to 236 passengers in a single class layout, the A321neo will enable the airline to increase capacity versus its current A320 fleet while benefitting from the lowest operating costs in the single aisle category.
As air service development professionals were debating the impact of ASEAN open skies during Routes Asia and the general potential hailing from the rising middle class in Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand and a thriving economy with an overall community of over 630 million people, Tony Fernandes, founder and head of the AirAsia Group was firmly placing his support behind the regional economic integration.
The new four times weekly link from Kuala Lumpur will add to the destination’s established links to Bangkok (China Southern, Shenzhen Airlines), Hong Kong (China Southern), Singapore (Jetstar Asia) and Taipei (China Southern) and will bring new connectivity across Asia and the Pacific through the AirAsia and AirAsia X networks from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The new business will operate from a base at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi prefecture to Shin-Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Sendai Airport in Sendai as well as to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei. Alongside its previous experiences at the facility, AirAsia Group currently serves the airport with its AirAsia X long-haul business from Kuala Lumpur.
The current structure of AirAsia Group’s airline activities has not come as a result of choice, but a requirement to enable the low-cost specialist to expand in international markets and overcome rigid local ownership issues. This means that rather than working independently, the carrier must develop joint ventures with local interests in each foreign market.
Peter Harbison, executive chairman, CAPA, says growth and turbulence provide excitement – and financial risk – for Asia’s airlines in 2015 in an interview in the latest Routes News magazine.
The highly anticipated AirAsia ASEAN travel pass has now been made available for sale, in an effort to boost travel within the region, by making it a seamless experience.
