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Saving Airasia Group and Airasia X: Covid-19 Recovery Thread

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Over the weekend, it flew KUL-SHJ-LGW.

Perhaps, this is a fund raising trip? They badly need new capital as Malaysian stock market was lukewarm to their latest rights issue - it was under subscribed and the underwriters had to pick up the unsold shares.

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On 1/3/2022 at 2:20 PM, JuliusWong said:

Fleet updates January 3, 2022:

AirAsia X Malaysia

A330-343 MSN 1670 9M-XBA has been returned to its lessor BOC Aviation. Left KUL to CRK for further storage. AirAsia X Malaysia current fleet stands at 14 (all A330-343).

Previously BOC Aviation has locked horn with AirAsia Group over non-lease payment for several of its jets currently leased to them. Other BOC Aviation leased airframes include:

  • 9M-XXV MSN 1589
  • HS-XTF  MSN 1646
  • 9M-XBC MSN 1659
  • 9M-XBB MSN 1674

Source: Skyliner-aviation.de

Fleet updates January 11, 2022:

AirAsia X Malaysia

A330-343 MSN 1659 9M-XBC and MSN 1674 9M-XBB have been returned to its lessor BOC Aviation. Left KUL to CRK for further storage on January 10, 2022. AirAsia X Malaysia current fleet stands at 12 (all A330-343).

Source: Skyliner-aviation.de

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On 12/30/2021 at 1:32 PM, JuliusWong said:

Updates:

  1. MSN 3679 previously HS-ABH, now 9M-RCH
  2. MSN 8746 previously JA03DJ, now 9M-RAV

Fleet updates January 11, 2022:

AirAsia Malaysia

MSN 8477, previously Philippines AirAsia RP-C8950 will be 9M-RCL

AirAsia Malaysia is currently absorbing some A320ceos which are leaving from sister subsidiaries. To complete the list:

  1. MSN 5619 previously 9M-AQV, VT-SIN now 9M-RCA
  2. MSN 4727 previously N214FR, VT-MOD now 9M-RCB
  3. MSN 4815 previously CC-BAP, VT-DEL now 9M-RCD
  4. MSN 4070 previously 9M-AHU, VT-BLR now 9M-RCE
  5. MSN 3679 previously HS-ABH, now 9M-RCH

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On 1/12/2022 at 12:45 PM, jahur said:

Looks like back on domestic now heading to kch as AK5206.

She went all the way to London on January 8, 2022 and returned to Malaysia on January 10th, any one knows what was the mission? 

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/9m-vva

51812669499_e752e2114f_c.jpg

9M-VVA - LGW by Jan, on Flickr

Edited by JuliusWong

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On 1/13/2022 at 6:20 PM, JuliusWong said:

She went all the way to London on January 8, 2022 and returned to Malaysia on January 10th, any one knows what was the mission? 

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/9m-vva

51812669499_e752e2114f_c.jpg

9M-VVA - LGW by Jan, on Flickr

Rumored was a Medevec flight covered by insurance. Probably the first time I've heard widebody aircraft being chartered by insurance instead of the typical gulfstream/challenger privates jet.

In BKI Prudential was known to fly learjet for Indonesians seeking cancer treatment in Gleaneagles. In MKZ it was the older gulfstream iv for Mahkota medical also for indonesians. 

Edited by jahur

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On 1/14/2022 at 9:34 PM, jahur said:

Rumored was a Medevec flight covered by insurance. Probably the first time I've heard widebody aircraft being chartered by insurance instead of the typical gulfstream/challenger privates jet.

In BKI Prudential was known to fly learjet for Indonesians seeking cancer treatment in Gleaneagles. In MKZ it was the older gulfstream iv for Mahkota medical also for indonesians. 

Thank you Ja Hur for your reply. That is one filthy rich fellow to be able charter a widebody aircraft for medevec if the rumour is true.

Yes, I also heard about the Learjet for Indonesians to come to KL, Penang and Melaka for treatment. Previously there was few Indonesian airline who flew to Melaka and Penang too. I think both of Oriental Melaka Straits Medical Centre and Mahkota Medical Centre have loads of patients from there before the borders closed due to COVID 19.

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I thought heavy maintenance was done in Lufthansa Teknik at MNL? According to planespotters.net XBE is leased from Sierra Echo since Dec 2018. Is this aircraft returned to lessor? 

I can't help but feel that D7 will never come back again. VVA is now flying some flights to HKG and India. Maybe D7 can't get enough working capital to mount those flights and that is the true reason why AK is operating them now?

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On 1/23/2022 at 11:08 AM, flee said:

I thought heavy maintenance was done in Lufthansa Teknik at MNL? According to planespotters.net XBE is leased from Sierra Echo since Dec 2018. Is this aircraft returned to lessor? 

I can't help but feel that D7 will never come back again. VVA is now flying some flights to HKG and India. Maybe D7 can't get enough working capital to mount those flights and that is the true reason why AK is operating them now?

Either, AirAsia X will need to send their aircraft to whichever location the lessor dictates them to do so. Most of them would ask AirAsia X to send to LH Teknik at MNL, once completed fly them to CRK  for longer storage. Occasionally lessors do ask for Singapore. If I remember correctly, the A340s previously did their pre-delivery maintenance at SIN and lease return check at MNL. I do think 9M-XBE is gone for good, the last densely configured A330-300ceo.

Based on my insider's news, Tony remains very upbeat on AirAsia X, they are applying for London, New York and Los Angeles now while waiting for the borders to re-open. Not sure if he has woken up and smile the coffee tbh....... They will have around 12-15 A330-300 after lease returns depending on negotiation. They have applied for government grant to support the airline but due to gomen bureaucracy, it is now stuck, so they need to look for new finance source. The 15 A330-900 delivery has been pushed back to 2026-2029, depending on the region recovery. 20 A321XLR delivery from 2024 onwards and will replace all four-to-six hours routes, again depending on the region recovery.

He will visit Cambodia soon to set a new airline there, AirAsia India is in the process of winding down. Some of their A320ceo are now being transferred/ returning to AirAsia Malaysia fleet.

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6 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Based on my insider's news, Tony remains very upbeat on AirAsia X, they are applying for London, New York and Los Angeles now while waiting for the borders to re-open. Not sure if he has woken up and smile the coffee tbh....... They will have around 12-15 A330-300 after lease returns depending on negotiation. They have applied for government grant to support the airline but due to gomen bureaucracy, it is now stuck, so they need to look for new finance source. The 15 A330-900 delivery has been pushed back to 2026-2029, depending on the region recovery. 20 A321XLR delivery from 2024 onwards and will replace all four-to-six hours routes, again depending on the region recovery.

He will visit Cambodia soon to set a new airline there, AirAsia India is in the process of winding down. Some of their A320ceo are now being transferred/ returning to AirAsia Malaysia fleet.

I think Malaysia is still in the FAA's Category 2 and I doubt any new routes will be approved. London has never made profits, so unless they make a concerted effort to include more cargo, it will be another loss maker. I think London will need to be a 1 stop flight as the A333 cannot make it without load restrictions.

It will be interesting to see if their A321s will have premium seats and keep the pax limit to about 200 to save on cabin crew.

Cambodia keeps inviting foreign companies to set up airlines - are those set up by Chinese companies are not up to their government's expectations? I wonder what else can an Airasia Cambodia do to improve the situation for a country where the population are too poor to fly on a regular basis.

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Fleet Movement January 28, 2022

AirAsia Indonesia

  1. Airbus A320-216     3963          EC-NOR     Volotea     in full colourscheme at KUL, ready for delivery     ex PK-AXI
  2. Airbus A320-216     4035          EC-NOS     Volotea     ferried 25jan22 VCE-SNN for paint into full cs     ex PK-AXJ

Source: https://www.skyliner-aviation.de/regdb.main?LC=nav4&page=1

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AirAsia Group Bhd has been renamed to Capital A Bhd

to reflect the group's new business strategy as an investment holding group for not only its aviation business but also its logistics, lifestyle and financial services ventures

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/capital-not-only-aviation-also-investment-holding-company-aviation-logistics-lifestyle-and

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AirAsia X secures space utilisation for one-third of A330-300 fleet

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X (AAX) has secured full belly space utilisation for one third of its wide body A330-300 fleet for an initial period of one year.

In a statement today, AirAsia said Teleport, the logistics venture of Capital A would use the additional capacity from AAX to fulfil its robust customer requirements, both intra and across the whole of Asia Pacific.

"For the foreseeable future, cargo revenue will underpin our route strategy and passenger revenue, for the first time, will be ancillary,” he said

https://www.nst.com.my/business/2022/02/771323/airasia-x-secures-teleport-user-big-chunk-a330-300-fleet-belly-space

 

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AirAsia parent to raise over RM400m for engineering arm

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/airasia-parent-raise-over-rm400m-engineering-arm

SINGAPORE (Feb 15): AirAsia's parent Capital A Bhd is raising more than RM400 million in capital for its engineering arm, which plans to build maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes of Capital A, which owns Malaysia's flagship budget airline AirAsia, on Tuesday (Feb 15) said the group would support growth of the wholly-owned Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) subsidiary.

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Fleet Movement February 21, 2022

Airbus A330-343    MSN 1533          LZ-DAV     DAE Capital     ferried 19-20 February 2022 CRK-TLL-PIK, still in AirAsia X cs     ex 9M-XXS

Airframe owned by DAE Capital, now leased to Bulgaria's Gullivair as LZ-DAV. Seen here arriving at Lithuania Tallinn International Airport yesterday January 20, 2022.

76383_1645372876.jpg

Source: https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10482070

Pretty surprised they did not delete the Malaysia flag when it was returned to its lessor.

Edited by JuliusWong

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AirAsia X Will Rebuild A330 Fleet As Borders Open

AAX currently has 11 A330s in total, after cutting back its fleet considerably during corporate restructuring. The airline operated about 25 A330s before the pandemic.

Ismail said AAX expects to have all 11 widebodies operational by the end of October. The carrier is also in discussions to lease at least another four A330s “in preparation for a full resumption of passenger flights when borders open,” Ismail said. The carrier has “a targeted fleet strength of at least 15 A330s,” he added.

https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/airasia-x-will-rebuild-a330-fleet-borders-open

 

It looks like they are looking for low cost A333 leases as they are not planning to take any A339s from Airbus.

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9 hours ago, flee said:

AirAsia X Will Rebuild A330 Fleet As Borders Open

AAX currently has 11 A330s in total, after cutting back its fleet considerably during corporate restructuring. The airline operated about 25 A330s before the pandemic.

Ismail said AAX expects to have all 11 widebodies operational by the end of October. The carrier is also in discussions to lease at least another four A330s “in preparation for a full resumption of passenger flights when borders open,” Ismail said. The carrier has “a targeted fleet strength of at least 15 A330s,” he added.

https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/airasia-x-will-rebuild-a330-fleet-borders-open

It looks like they are looking for low cost A333 leases as they are not planning to take any A339s from Airbus.

More information here: https://www.flightglobal.com/fleets/airasia-x-to-have-15-a330s-in-service-by-end-2022/147638.article?fbclid=IwAR20owPhfvn4oNILwDZGZrcht3ThE3qlZYs14L2F2ui6NnI2-jxjrjVLU7k

In short, they are looking for some cheap A330-300 leases with possibly well worn interior since most of their recent newer delivered A333s has been repossessed by their lessors.

AirAsia X had 26 A330-300 before COVID hits. Now down to 13 A330-300. All of BOC (except one 9M-XXV), AerCap and DAE Capital (except one HS-XTI) airframes are gone, leaving mostly small lessors.

  1. 9M-XXR MSN 654        
  2. 9M-XXQ MSN 716        
  3. 9M-XBE   MSN 782        
  4. 9M-XXC MSN 1048        
  5. 9M-XXD MSN 1066        
  6. 9M-XXE MSN 1075    
  7. 9M-XXF    MSN 1126        
  8. 9M-XXG MSN 1131    
  9. 9M-XXI    MSN 1411    
  10. 9M-XXP    MSN 1481    
  11. 9M-XXU MSN 1581        
  12. 9M-XXV MSN 1589    
  13. 9M-XXZ    MSN 1612        

Thai AirAsia X had 12 A330-300 with 1 pending delivery + 2 A330-900neo before COVID hits. Now down to 6 A330-300 and 2 A330-900neo.

  1. HS-XTA MSN 662    
  2. HS-XTC MSN 692    
  3. HS-XTG MSN 720        
  4. HS-XTH MSN 773        
  5. HS-XTI  MSN 978    
  6. HS-XTE MSN 1619    
  7. HS-XJA MSN 1901        
  8. HS-XJB MSN 1903    

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Thanks for the updates, Julius. I suppose old and run down A333s are OK as they can refit the seats if necessary. But since they are more focused on cargo, it might not be so important.

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13 hours ago, flee said:

Thanks for the updates, Julius. I suppose old and run down A333s are OK as they can refit the seats if necessary. But since they are more focused on cargo, it might not be so important.

Most welcome. Some of the recent A330s which were returned to lessors came with refurbished interior. The previous light-brown seat with red headrest was changed to black with red headrest. Vietjet has got one of them (two more to go), I believe T'Way too (two more to go). One of their main core market, Australia, has opened up. Now waiting for Malaysia side to open up, that will provide some relief for them. 

On a side note, not sure if other lessors are willing to lease the any "new" airframe to Capital A/ D7, knowing that the airline is technically bankrupt, default on numerous payment. Airbus was quick in their action in getting buyers line up for their A321neo and A330-900neo NTUs.

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On 2/24/2022 at 10:49 AM, JuliusWong said:

Most welcome. Some of the recent A330s which were returned to lessors came with refurbished interior. The previous light-brown seat with red headrest was changed to black with red headrest. Vietjet has got one of them (two more to go), I believe T'Way too (two more to go). One of their main core market, Australia, has opened up. Now waiting for Malaysia side to open up, that will provide some relief for them. 

On a side note, not sure if other lessors are willing to lease the any "new" airframe to Capital A/ D7, knowing that the airline is technically bankrupt, default on numerous payment. Airbus was quick in their action in getting buyers line up for their A321neo and A330-900neo NTUs.

I think the beige seats that first came with 9M-XXA were gone as newer aircraft were delivered as they were more difficult, maintenance wise.

Airbus has been very businesslike since the new CEO took over - they are now very financially disciplined. They even reported themselves when they found out about the corruption of the previous managements.

Although Capital A and D7 have poor credit risk these days, they will have to rebuild their reputation. It will be another few years before they can get good deals from the top leasing companies. They will just need to hang on to their planes a lot longer than planned. They were fortunate that they sold off all the owned planes they had under AAC - otherwise the banks will be much tougher creditors! As least now, they are still able to borrow. I am sure that the leasing companies will now imposed a lot tighter terms and conditions on them. They won't get the best lease rates for some time.

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T'Way inducts first A330-300

https://www.flightglobal.com/fleets/south-koreas-tway-joins-widebody-club-with-a330-arrival/147703.article?fbclid=IwAR2LORThUmUnnnn_vI9vI5_8lkw0MfxIBlZgS0JbVsLKwaRKO31ZDJRINL4

South Korean low-cost carrier T’way Air has introduced its first Airbus A330-300, adding to its fleet 27 Boeing 737-800s.

The aircraft is equipped with 347 seats, of which 12 are in business and 335 in economy, says T’way. It claims to be the only South Korean LCC to introduce business class.

Remark:

  1. They reupholstered AirAsia X Premium class seat, but reconfigured the Economy class to 2-4-2, offering 12PY and 335Y, total 347 seats (AirAsia X has 377).
  2. The airframe is MSN1058 and is managed by lessor AerCap. It was delivered new to Aeroflot Russian Airlines in October 2009, and served with Thai AirAsia X as HS-XTK from December 2019 to December 2021. She only saw five months of operation with Thai AirAsia X before going into long term storage at DMK and CRK between June 2020 till November 2021.

 

 

85323_71f1675feebd434aa9c49d0672d89b4c_981025.jpg

Tway.JPG

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On 1/25/2022 at 10:24 PM, flee said:

I think Malaysia is still in the FAA's Category 2 and I doubt any new routes will be approved. London has never made profits, so unless they make a concerted effort to include more cargo, it will be another loss maker. I think London will need to be a 1 stop flight as the A333 cannot make it without load restrictions.

It will be interesting to see if their A321s will have premium seats and keep the pax limit to about 200 to save on cabin crew.

Cambodia keeps inviting foreign companies to set up airlines - are those set up by Chinese companies are not up to their government's expectations? I wonder what else can an Airasia Cambodia do to improve the situation for a country where the population are too poor to fly on a regular basis.

 

On 1/25/2022 at 4:16 PM, JuliusWong said:

Either, AirAsia X will need to send their aircraft to whichever location the lessor dictates them to do so. Most of them would ask AirAsia X to send to LH Teknik at MNL, once completed fly them to CRK  for longer storage. Occasionally lessors do ask for Singapore. If I remember correctly, the A340s previously did their pre-delivery maintenance at SIN and lease return check at MNL. I do think 9M-XBE is gone for good, the last densely configured A330-300ceo.

Based on my insider's news, Tony remains very upbeat on AirAsia X, they are applying for London, New York and Los Angeles now while waiting for the borders to re-open. Not sure if he has woken up and smile the coffee tbh....... They will have around 12-15 A330-300 after lease returns depending on negotiation. They have applied for government grant to support the airline but due to gomen bureaucracy, it is now stuck, so they need to look for new finance source. The 15 A330-900 delivery has been pushed back to 2026-2029, depending on the region recovery. 20 A321XLR delivery from 2024 onwards and will replace all four-to-six hours routes, again depending on the region recovery.

He will visit Cambodia soon to set a new airline there, AirAsia India is in the process of winding down. Some of their A320ceo are now being transferred/ returning to AirAsia Malaysia fleet.

Almost anyone with cable and deep pocket could obtain aoc in cambodia. those chinese funded or controlled cambodian airlines was intended to bring gamblers and investors from prc to sihanoukville. it may be relatively easy to obtain aoc but operating environment is a different story.

 

 

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