The CEO of Capital A, owner of AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International), says his top priority is to complete the company's restructuring. New aircraft orders can placed within the next one to three months, once the restructuring is over.
Tony Fernandes told this to Reuters after the Paris Air Show came and went without AirAsia announcing a new order as widely anticipated.
"We want to make sure we clear out of our restructuring [first[," he told the news agency. Capital A is in the final stages of its business restructuring as it works to exit a Bursa Malaysia-imposed Practice Note 17 status, which the stock exchange puts on listed companies it considers financially distressed.
However, Fernandes did say that after this, AirAsia is likely to place two orders, the first for fifty to seventy A321neo types and the second order for around 100 A220 or Embraer E2s.
"We’re still doing a lot of work with Airbus and other manufacturers," he said. "I think we’ll look to do something imminently, in the next one to three months."
Capital A hopes to shed its PN17 status later this month or next.
Reportedly, AirAsia is leaning towards the Airbus regional jets over the Brazilian-manufactured alternative. However, financing needs to be resolved.
AirAsia is an all-Airbus operator and already has 367 aircraft on order, including 331 A321-200NX and thirty-six A321-200NX(LR)s. However, those orders predate the pandemic, and the airline has placed no new orders in recent years. The airline also paused deliveries for several years but restarted them in 2024.
"We're back in the growth stage," said Fernandes, whose airline interests also include AirAsia Cambodia, Philippines AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, and AirAsia X.
