NEW GENERATION JETS OFFER 'OPPORTUNITIES' TO REDUCE FARES

HAMBURG, Germany -- AirAsia on Thursday took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, allowing it to fly more passengers with less fuel and giving it room to lower fares, officials said.

Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier ordered a total of 353 A321neo jets, each with 236 seats, 50 more than the older generation A320. The A321neo also burns 20 percent less fuel, said Airbus' marketing head for the region, Aymeric Dupront.

The A321neo can fly 5.5 hours, 1 hour longer than the A320, which will allow AirAsia to expand to more destinations in China, Thailand and Australia, said the carrier's senior manager for aircraft planning and evaluation, Matthew Glaus.

AirAsia Philippines is "concretizing plans to purchase an A321neo" that will bring "opportunities for us to offer even lower fares," said its CEO, Ricky Isla.

Majority of AirAsia's fleet will be comprised of A321 aircraft in the next 5 years, forming its "backbone," Glaus said.

The Airbus A320 accounts for 234 out of AirAsia's 273-strong fleet, while the rest are wide-body A330s. AirAsia's first 2 Air321 jets will service Malaysia. Thailand will get the third and fourth which will be delivered this year.

MIDDLE CLASS FLYERS

Air traffic in Asia-Pacific quadrupled to some 1.6 billion passengers last year from 400 million, said Airbus' Dupront. In the Philippines, domestic air traffic is expected to triple in 20 years due to the "very fast" growth of population and the middle class, he said.

A bigger plane like the A321neo will allow airlines to carry more passengers without increasing airport parking slots for additional flights, Dupront said.

Airbus received some 15,000 orders for its single-aisle A320 aircraft family, of which 8,000 are in service as of October.

It took Airbus 12 years to deliver the first 1,000 A320 jets and only 2 years to deliver the last 1,000, showing "acceleration in production," he said.

Eight assembly lines are committed to delivering the backlog on orders, including an automated facility in Hamburg, he said.

3, 2, 1, TAKE-OFF

Reporters stow luggage in overhead cabins. ABS-CBN News

A USB port glows blue in a seat armrest of AirAsia's new A321neo. ABS-CBN News

A gadget holder props up a cellphone on a seat tray inside the A321neo. ABS-CBN News

Sporting multi-color livery with the phrase "3,2,1 take off", AirAsia's new A321neo jet can carry 5 tons or 40 percent more cargo than older generations.

Arranged in a single class layout, the aircraft's 18-inch wide seats feature contoured backrests, mobile and tablet PC holders, and USB charging ports. Rokki WiFi will equip the jet with inflight entertainment and up to 10mbps internet.

AirAsia Group last year carried 44.8 million passengers, up 14 percent from 39.09 million in 2017. Industry tracker Skytrax in June ranked AirAsia as the world’s best low-cost airline for the 11th straight year.