by Jamie Freed
(Reuters) – Malaysian budget airline AirAsia plans to resume 362 Airbus SE (OTC: EADSY) A160neos Remaining orders start at 2024), the chief executive of parent company Capital A Bhd said the arrival was delayed amid the pandemic.
As one of Airbus’ largest customers, the airline has only accepted four A 321 Corona virus before the new celestial bodies destroyed air travel. Last year, it reached an agreement with Airbus to restructure the order with a delivery deadline of 2035, but no start date for the recovery was provided at the time.
“We will… receive a new Airbus A 321 from 2024 neo, which will further reduce our emissions per seat by 20% while further driving our business growth ,” Capital A Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a statement later on Friday as the group reported a narrower second-quarter operating loss.
The airline stated that it operated 15 aircraft in the quarter ended June 15, higher than only 20 a year ago, when lockdowns and widespread border closures were imposed across Southeast Asia.
“As of August, a total of 108 operating aircraft have returned to the skies and are expected to increase to by the end of the year) to support strong and gr due to consumer demand,” said AirAsia Group CEO Bo Lingam, adding that it is expected 2023 will resume full operations in the second quarter.
The operating loss for Capital A is 160 300,000 ringgit ($108.15 Million) Three months ended June 19, compared to a loss of 792 200,000 ringgit in the same period last year .
Lingam said weakness in the combined currency against the U.S. dollar and higher maintenance costs required to bring planes back into service “slightly lengthened” the return to profitability for the airline business.
The company reported last month that its airline’s passenger load factor, which measures the percentage of seats filled, rose in the second quarter to 84%, similar to pre-pandemic levels.
Capital A said in June that it was evaluating a fundraising option for a planned U.S. listing as it shed its listing by Bursa Malaysia as trapped in financial Troubled company.
($1 = 4.4650 Ringgit)
