Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia Bhd this morning announced plans to double its Airbus A320 fleet to 200 as it looks to expand its service in the region.
AirAsia, which introduced its low-fare, no-frills concept in December 2001, has firm orders for 100 Airbus A320 aircraft, with options on 30 more.
"We are looking at topping up the order," AirAsia Deputy Chief Executive Kamarudin Meranun told reporters. Asked how many in total AirAsia plans to buy, he said: "Maximum 200."
The additional 70 aircraft would potentially make the 5-year-old airline one of the biggest fleets in Asia.
"In the next seven years, we want to be the largest airline in Asia," AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said at the launch of a low-cost long-haul service to be operated by FlyAsianXpress in which he has a 50 per cent interest.
Kamarudin said AirAsia, which has a market value of about €3.8 billion ringgit (US$1.1 billion), expected to finalise its fleet expansion plan by the end of this month.
Mr Fernandes has said that the airline, which has access to some 500 million people in its Asia Pacific service region, including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, needs more aircraft to properly fuel growth.
At a list price of around $65 million each A320 craft, an additional 70 planes would cost AirAsia $4.55 billion. In December, Mr Fernandes said that any plane purchases would be paid for using bank loans.