AirAsia X, the longhaul affiliate of AirAsia, is investing US$500 million to lease six Airbus A330-300 aircraft, scheduled for delivery over the next two years.
It signed a letter of intent with International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) yesterday on a 10-year lease term for the six aircraft, four of which will be delivered next year and the remaining two in 2014.
These six aircraft, coupled with deliveries of eight A330-300 aircraft from Airbus within the next two years, will see AirAsia X’s fleet size increase from the present 11 to 25 in 2014.
AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, said the new aircraft ordered would be deployed to serve its core markets of Australia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The airline will increase frequencies on some existing routes and introduce new routes between Kuala Lumpur and these countries.
“We don’t want to be overtaken by others,” he added.
This is the first time that AirAsia X is leasing from ILFC, a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc.
