AirAsia X places $2.1 billion order for ten Airbus A330-300s
26 Mar 2008
Kuala Lumpur: Long-haul, low-cost airline pioneer, AirAsia X, said Tuesday it would buy 10 more Airbus A330-300 aircraft for $2.1 billion, bringing its fleet strength to a total of 25 aircraft. The order comes on the back of a previous order with Airbus for 15 of the aircraft.
According to AirAsia X officials, a signing ceremony to confirm the purchase of the 10 additional A330s would be held on Thursday. They also said that the list price for the 10 new aircraft is $2.1 billion. With this firm order, the total number of A330 aircraft in Air Asia X fleet will be 25.
They also said that the carrier was eyeing next generation aircraft of Airbus 350-900 and the Boeing 787-9 for future fleet expansion plans.
AirAsia X, a Malaysian airliner, has begun operations to Australia's Gold Coast and China with a leased A330. It intends to launch services to Britain later this year, after acquiring additional aircraft. These services will eventually extend to Europe, Japan and the Middle East, with fares on average 50 per cent lower than full-service carriers.
AirAsia X, an affiliate of AirAsia and Virgin Blue, was launched in January 2007 and has common shareholders, including AirAsia founder and chief, Tony Fernandes.
Richard Branson's Virgin Group has a 20 per cent stake.
