LANGKAWI Malaysia --- The largest low cost carrier in Southeast Asia, AirAsia Bhd, Wednesday ordered an additional 25 Airbus A320 aircraft, with an option for a further 25, at the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace (LIMA) 2007 exhibition.
The order will place the group - Malaysia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia & Indonesia AirAsia - as the largest A320 operator in the world, with 175 firm orders and 50 purchase options, group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said.
"This purchase is an important step for AirAsia as it signifies our future aggressive route expansion plans in tandem with our expected traffic growth over the next decades," he said.
"The addition of the aircraft will be used to add frequency across the route network, introduce new routes and gradually replace the current fleet of Boeing 737 in Thailand and Indonesia."
He and Airbus chief operating officer (customers) John Leahy signed the contract witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.
Fernandes said the delivery under the new order will be after 2013.
AirAsia placed its original order for 60 A320s in March 2005, with re-orders for an additional 40 aircraft in July 2006 and for another 50 aircraft in January this year.
The first Airbus was delivered to AirAsia in December 2005 and currently it operates 31 A320s for both domestic and regional markets.
