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AirAsia aims for 60-70 million passengers a year, from current 36 million

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AirAsia may order up to 100 Airbus planes

 

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd may order up to 100 planes from Airbus at the Berlin airshow next month, Bloomberg said.

In its report on Wednesday, it quoted newly-appointed chief executive officer Aireen Omar that negotiations with Airbus were going on quite well. The low-cost carrier would like to sign the deal in Berlin, she said.

AirAsia already has outstanding orders for 272 single-aisle A320s, Bloomberg reported.

To recap, AirAsia Bhd posted a 3% drop in net operating profit to RM130.94mil for the second quarter ended June 30 compared with the quarter a year ago on a drop in ancillary income and a marginally lower seat-load factor of 80%.

Revenue increased 9.22% to RM1.18bil in the quarter under review on the back of a 10% growth in passenger volume as well as higher average fare of RM177 compared with RM164 previously.

Aireen said despite the majority of airlines losing money or being severely behind in earnings amid higher fuel prices, AirAsia had continued to outperform each quarter by posting healthy profits.

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/29/business/20120829133000&sec=business

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I wonder how Air Asia Group will distribute those aircraft as currently Malaysian AK still have the biggest fleet number. With KLIA2 ready for operation, is it possible that Malaysian AK still hold the biggest fleet number in future?

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I wonder how Air Asia Group will distribute those aircraft as currently Malaysian AK still have the biggest fleet number. With KLIA2 ready for operation, is it possible that Malaysian AK still hold the biggest fleet number in future?

AirAsia Group accelerates delivery of 13 A320 for this year. Most of them will be based on AirAsia Philippines, AirAsia Indonesia, Batavia Air and AirAsia Japan. Moreover, Thai AirAsia had moved their operation to Don Mueang International Airport, allowing for space for growth.

 

The future is bright with AirAsia Group. If they are to confirm the latest A320ceo order, they will have 375 A320 on order. That's double of any legacy SEA airlines' fleet.

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Moreover, Thai AirAsia had moved their operation to Don Mueang International Airport, allowing for space for growth.

They have not moved to Don Mueang. They will move there next month :)

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AirAsia Group accelerates delivery of 13 A320 for this year. Most of them will be based on AirAsia Philippines, AirAsia Indonesia, Batavia Air and AirAsia Japan. Moreover, Thai AirAsia had moved their operation to Don Mueang International Airport, allowing for space for growth.

 

The future is bright with AirAsia Group. If they are to confirm the latest A320ceo order, they will have 375 A320 on order. That's double of any legacy SEA airlines' fleet.

 

 

Wow. 375 is a huge number!

Does anyone know how many aircraft AirAsia has now?

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Does anyone know how many aircraft AirAsia has now?

 

Tony Fernandes knows! Here is his tweet:

With bases in all the major hubs. A strong balance sheet 110 planes. We are in a good position

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AirAsia close to major new Airbus deal -sources

 

NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) - AirAsia is putting finishing touches to a deal to buy up to 100 Airbus jets, ending a flirtation with Canada's Bombardier and putting Asia's largest budget carrier on course for regional expansion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The deal for A320-family jets, potentially worth about $9 billion, is designed to fuel the growth of what is fast becoming a cluster of related airlines under Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, who placed a record order for 200 Airbuses last year.

Demand from Asian low-cost carriers is helping to drive production at Europe's Airbus and U.S. rival Boeing to record levels, shielding aerospace workers from recession.

Talks are at the final stage but the Airbus deal will not formally be ready in time to be announced at next week's Berlin Airshow, the sources said, asking not to be identified.

AirAsia last year picked a revamped fuel-saving model of A320 that will reach the market from 2015. Its development and Boeing's response, an upgraded 737, have dramatically increased competition in the $100 billion global jet market this year.

AirAsia says it still needs more of the existing generation of A320 to support ambitious short-term plans, which include expansion in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.

Negotiations between Airbus and AirAsia for billions of dollars of new purchases, initially for 50 firm aircraft orders and 50 options, were first reported by Reuters in May.

The deal ends speculation over talks between AirAsia and Canada's Bombardier, whose chairman intervened personally earlier this year to try to persuade Fernandes to pick its CSeries jet, a new challenger to Airbus and Boeing.

Bombardier's bid to break the exclusive ties between Airbus and one of its largest customers became public when a Reuters journalist spotted the discussions at a Formula 1 racetrack on the eve of July's Farnborough Airshow.

The sources said AirAsia would not opt for a densely packed 160-seat version of the plane being offered by Bombardier.

"AirAsia is so close to Airbus that I think it would virtually give planes to AirAsia to block anything Bombardier offered," said U.S. aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton.

AirAsia's latest move could also sharpen competition with Indonesia's Lion Air, another big-spending low-cost carrier that has emerged as one of Boeing's biggest customers.

AirAsia, with an operating fleet of 116 aircraft, has ordered a total of 375 Airbus jets as part of dramatic plans for expansion that now include the acquisition of Indonesia's Batavia Air. It has said it will bring forward deliveries as rising demand helps it offset high fuel costs.

"The region that AirAsia serves has a population of 600 million people - more than the U.S. or Europe - and the only way to get around a lot of those areas is by air," Hamilton said.

Not all analysts are convinced by AirAsia's expansion. Some local bankers say profits could be hampered by pressure from potential losses at start-up units in Philippines and Japan. Its shares have fallen 7 percent in the past 3 months.

AirAsia made a net operating profit of 130.94 million ringgit ($42 million), excluding one-off items, in the second quarter, down slightly from the same quarter last year.

Net profit was boosted by a one-off gain of 1.16 billion ringgit following a share sale at its Thai unit.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/08/airasia-airbus-idINL6E8K800E20120908

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AirAsia just announced another order for A320NEO, bringing the total number of aircraft on order to 475.....300 A320NEOs and 175 A320 CEO (currently still being delivered).

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AirAsia orders 100 Airbus jets including 64 A320neos

 

Budget carrier AirAsia has ordered another 64 Airbus A320neos as well as a further 36 baseline A320s.

 

The deal confirms AirAsia as the undisclosed customer behind a deal for 100 A320s booked in November.

 

AirAsia had previously indicated that it was negotiating for 100 jets but that it had opted against a high-density Bombardier CSeries.

 

No delivery dates have been disclosed for the AirAsia jets, nor has an engine selection been given.

It takes AirAsia's overall Airbus orders to 264 A320neos and 211 regular A320s.

 

Airbus values the agreement, unveiled during an event at its UK plant at Broughton, at $9.4 billion at catalogue prices.

 

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airasia-orders-100-airbus-jets-including-64-a320neos-380200/

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BROUGHTON: AirAsia Group, which is buying 100 more Airbus aircraft valued at US$9.4bil as it transforms into an Asian airline, sees the potential to achieve the target of between 60 million and 70 million passengers.

 

AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the low-cost carrier was in a fantastic part of the world, especially in South-East Asia.

 

“Ten years ago, we had 200,000 passengers. This year, we are carrying 36 million. The potential to go to 60 million and 70 million passengers is within easy reach,” he said during a recent visit to Broughton in Britain where he signed a deal with Airbus to buy the aircraft from Airbus in the presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron.

 

“We want air travel to be affordable and make Asia a smaller place by making it accessible. We want to bring people to Asia where they never thought of going at fares they never thought would be there,” he said.

 

Fernandes said 50% of AirAsia's destinations are those which had not been served by airlines. It has been able to open new routes and destinations.

 

“My ambition is that one day AirAsia will be as well-known as Coca-Cola that would be cool. That would be a massive task but if you don't have ambition, you won't get anywhere,” he said.

 

To recap, the 100 Airbus A320s consist of 36 with the current engine option and 64 with the new engine option. With the latest orders, the low-cost carrier has ordered 475 single-aisle aircraft from Airbus, comprising 264 A320 new engine options and 211 A320 current engine option.

 

The contract reaffirms AirAsia, Asia's largest low-cost carrier, as the world's largest A320 customer. Fernandes said aircraft demand was very strong, so AirAsia had to move forward its orders to cope with demand. “We had to fill in back orders for 2013, 2014 and 2016 when the new engine options come out,” he said.

 

He added that AirAsia group was looking at options of either buying or leasing, but his view was that it was better to buy the aircraft.

 

By 2026, AirAsia would have received 475 aircraft and Fernandes does not think the 100 planes would be the last order.

 

“Many of our new aircraft will go to replace the first ones in 2005. By 2017, they will be about 12 years old. While it seems a huge order, I think we will be back in the market at some stage because the demand is large,” he said.

 

Fernandes said size was important for a low-cost carrier and Airbus had a very strong working relationship with AirAsia's engineering team on how best to utilise the aircraft including having more seats.

 

On financing for the 100 aircraft and whether AirAsia would look into a rights issue, he said there would not be any need to look into any rights issues.

 

“We will fund this by our cash and our debt. And our gearing level will remain the same. Our cash is really very strong at the moment. Four years ago, our gearing was at four times. Now our gearing is one time. For any airline growing such like us, that is unheard of,” he pointed out.

 

In the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2012, AirAsia Bhd had RM2.2bil in cash and bank balances with net gearing reduced to 1.03 times this quarter (net gearing was reported at 1.10 times in quarter two).

 

Fernandes said AirAsia was now in a position to reward shareholders with dividends after its “fantastic growth rate”. “We now have cash generating capability and these aircraft do not require any further shareholders funding,” he said.

 

Asked to comment that the share price recently hit fresh 52-week lows and trading a very low price-to-earnings, he said there was an overhang from news about Malindo Air starting operations in Malaysia.

 

“People have over-reacted. All kinds of crazy thing have come out from there but we have been there before,” he said.

 

He said AirAsia had always grown margins with record profits and it was making headway into Indonesia where it is much smaller than Lion Air.

 

“The (AirAsia) share price will go down and go up. As long as you keep delivering earnings, people will re-believe in us. It is frustrating for us. We hope they (Malindo Air) will launch quickly and get over and done with it,” he said.

 

Asked whether AirAsia Bhd's share price was recently suppressed by expectations that it could be excluded from the 30-stock FBM KLCI, he said he was unaware of it.

 

AirAsia Group's Datuk Kamarudin Meranun explained this would take effect on Dec 24, but “purely due to market capitalisation”. “It has nothing to do with performance,” said Kamarudin.

 

AirAsia and Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Bhd (MMHE) are likely to be replaced byAstro Malaysia Holdings Bhd and Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd.

 

Asked if AirAsia was talking to fund managers that though the share price had recently declined, the fundamentals remained very strong, Fernandes said: “We are buying our shares back. We believe in it and we are putting the money where our mouth is.”

 

“But proof is in the numbers. We are the most profitable airline in the world. No airline delivered 17% margins with oil price (jet fuel) at US$130.

 

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/17/business/12469061&sec=business

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An article in the Financial Times today reports that shares in AirAsia "fell about 27 per cent last year - underperforming the Datastream Asian airlines index significantly, as well as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia".

 

AirAsia Indonesia had a 5 per cent operating margin whilst its Malaysian business had a 19 per cent operating margin.

 

AirAsia has 112 aircraft with more than 300 on order. It expects its fleet to grow to 200 aircraft in five years and 300 in 10 years.

 

The article also discusses the threat posed by Lion Air which could trigger a price war in the Malaysian market which could hit AirAsia's profits.

 

The rather negative article claims "investors may be worried that he (TF) is spreading himself too thinly". However, TF is reported as saying he spends 80% of his time on AirAsia but football is a source of greater worry.

 

Maybe after beating Chelsea last night he is not worrying so much about QPR even if they are still bottom of the table.

 

Geoff

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Well that's very interesting! Let's see what and where AK is going to expand to when KLIA2 is opened! I was hoping AirAsia X could fly more destination like returning to Europe!

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I was hoping AirAsia X could fly more destination like returning to Europe!

Yes, it would be very interesting to see what D7 does. The past two years, they have postponed aircraft deliveries because LCCT only has 3 parking bays for widebodies.

 

This year, they will go for their IPO and are expected to take delivery of leased as well as owned aircraft. Their stated focus is on Asia and I expect that they will also increase frequencies to Australia. Latest tweets from Azran indicate that China will also get a boost - he stated Chengdu will go daily in Q2.

 

Europe and other long haul flights over 9 hours might only be considered after the A350-900s arrive in 2016-2017.

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An article in the Financial Times today reports that shares in AirAsia "fell about 27 per cent last year - underperforming the Datastream Asian airlines index significantly, as well as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia".

Angpow came early for some this year. It's been climbing again since last week and more than just few people made good money from it :D

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