SEPANG: Capital A Bhd's AirAsia expects to operate all 191 of its Airbus A320 aircraft in the first quarter of 2024 as it ramps up capacity to meet the growing air travel demand.
The company's chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said currently AirAsia is operating 166 aircraft while the balance are undergoing maintenance checks before being put into operations.
"1Q24 we hope to put all the planes back," he told a media briefing here today adding that AirAsia was expected to resume taking delivery of its Airbus A321 by June this year following a three-year pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
AirAsia had received four of the A321s in 2019.
In October 2021, Capital A announced that it had signed an amendment agreement with Airbus S.A.S, a European airplane manufacturer, to convert its remaining A320 aircraft orders to the A321 neo (new engine options).
The budget carrier has a total order of 362 of the single-aisle aircraft which can seat 236 passengers.
Fernandes also announced the appointment of AirAsia Aviation Group's two deputy CEO as the airline company embarks on its next phase of growth.
The two deputy CEOs are Datuk Captain Chester Voo who will lead the airline operations and Farouk Kamal who will be oversee corporate functions such as finance, corporate finance, aircraft leasing, legal, investor relations and strategy.
AirAsia Aviation Group group CEO Bo Lingam said the leadership appointments show a significant milestone in the airline's evolution, steering AirAsia through an era of digital transformation, innovation and sustainable growth.
"Both of their combined efforts will allow us to continue our dedicated focus on our strategic decision-making, long-term planning, and overall organisational direction for the group," he added.
Voo has nearly three decades of experience in the aviation industry, 11 of which was with AirAsia.
He was also the former CEO of Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia from June 2020 until December 2022.
He is credited with spearheading efforts to lift Malaysia out of the Category 2 rating of the International Aviation Safety Assessment by the United States Federal Aviation Administration to Category 1 rating in 2022.
Farouk, who is formerly a board member of AirAsia X Bhd, joined AirAsia Aviation Group from Urusharta Jamaah, a government-linked investment company where he served as CEO and chief investment officer.
He also worked in investment banking with Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse.