With Thai AirAsia aiming to secure 25 Airbus A321neo aircraft from an order placed by AirAsia Aviation Group for 100 of the aircraft over the next five years, the airline plans to strengthen its domestic and international route networks, particularly in destinations facing constraints in terms of slots.
Santisuk Klongchaiya, chief executive of Thai AirAsia, said that since tourism and aviation has now recovered, Thai AirAsia is prioritising an increase in its capacity to cater to increasing demand and respond to the government's aviation hub policy.
Thai AirAsia received two new Airbus A321neos last month and is expecting another one later this year, bringing the total number in its fleet to 60.
The A321neo has 236 seats, 50 more than aircraft under the A320 series. The A321neo can operate flights with a duration of between 5-6 hours.
It can save around 15-20% on the operating cost per seat and reduce carbon emissions by 25-30%.
Mr Santisuk said the new aircraft would be allocated to international routes that have limited slots and continue to face difficulties in terms of trying to increase flight frequency. These include Indian routes and major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
From 2025 to 2030, the airline aims to add four to five new aircraft per year as part of the AirAsia Aviation Group's five-year order plan for 100 new aircraft.
Mr Santisuk said that from now on most of the new aircraft ordered would be Airbus A321neos, along with the option of the Airbus A321XLR, which can operate longer-range flights to the Middle East or Australia, for example.
Thai AirAsia aims to carry 21-22 million passengers by the end of this year. The relocation of Thai AirAsia X back to Don Mueang Airport in October this year would also help strengthen its operations.
At the same time, the AirAsia Group, comprising Thai AirAsia, AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Cambodia, expect their combined fleet to exceed to 300 aircraft within five years, carrying 100 million passengers per year.
Another two A321neos have also been delivered to AirAsia Malaysia.
Bo Lingam, chief executive of AirAsia Aviation Group, said that with the addition of the new aircraft, AirAsia's transit passengers would increase from 18% at present to 25% by 2025.
During the first half of 2024, the group launched 20 new routes, serving over 130 destinations with 31 million passengers, recording a 90% average load factor.