Malaysian carrier AirAsia close to ordering A220 jets in deal for at least 100 aircraft
The Paris Air Show appears to have started early, with repeated reports anticipating large orders. One of them would be from Malaysia’s AirAsia, which is linked to an order for at least 100 aircraft from Airbus.
The low-cost carrier could announce a deal that will include the A220, Airbus’ smallest aircraft and originally developed by Bombardier.
Although it has more than 900 firm orders, the aircraft that seats up to 160 passengers has seen its backlog stall in recent years. So a large order from AirAsia would be a big relief for the program.
According to Reuters, the Malaysian airline, which has not placed a new order since before the pandemic, is trying to recover from a financial slump in recent years and return to growth.
The potential order from Airbus is the expected path since it currently operates 226 A320 family jets and 28 A330 widebodies. The A220 would be used on regional routes where the A320 is too large.
Despite this, Embraer is also reportedly in talks with Air Asia to transfer some E195-E2s that were supposed to have been delivered to SKS Airways, also from Malaysia.
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