KUALA LUMPUR -- The supply chain for spare parts, engines and airplanes will be "virtually normal" by 2024, Capital A chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said Monday.
Capital A is the operator of regional budget carrier AirAsia.
"Spare parts, engines have been an issue," Fernandes told a press briefing in Malaysia. "Supply chain has been badly affected," he added.
He admitted, however, that things have been "getting better."
"I think, by (2024), [the] supply chain will be virtually back to normal. And Airbus for the first time have confirmed they will be able to deliver planes," he said.
Fernandes acknowledged that restarting an airline with 200 planes that haven't been used for 3 years is a "monstrous job."
"Delays will happen. No airline will not have delays. But how we manage the delays, so you're not hanging around sitting in the airport for hours and hours--that's what we're working out," he stressed.
"Very soon our new boarding pass is so informative, we will tell you where the plane is," he said.
"Say you're catching a flight to Penang or Bangladesh, that plane comes in from somewhere. We will tell you where that plane is."
Fernandes said 91 percent of AirAsia flights on Sunday arrived on time.
He added that they have about 40 aircraft they want to fly again by the end of December.
"When we have all 40 aircraft back then we have actually ended COVID in my eyes," he said.
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