Airbus delivers 8,000th aircraft, an A320 for AirAsia

Airbus has delivered its 8,000th aircraft – an A320 for the Indonesian wing of AirAsia. The aircraft took off from Toulouse, France on Saturday 3rd August and arrived earlier today at its new base in Jakarta.

The delivery of the 8,000th Airbus aircraft highlights the manufacturer’s position as leader in the civil aircraft market, delivering airlines the most advanced, fuel efficient family of aircraft available today. The product line is also the most comprehensive ever offered by an aircraft manufacturer, covering every segment of the market from 100 to over 500 seats.

“AirAsia has a long-standing, special relationship with Airbus. This is a very special moment for all of us. The people behind Airbus and their commitment in delivering the best product are key to our fruitful relationship, and we are extremely proud to have the 8,000th Airbus as a member of our fleet. It’s the same pioneering, forward-looking mindset and a lot of hard work that have brought both AirAsia and Airbus to their respective leading positions today,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia. “The excellent fuel efficiency and economics of Airbus aircraft are key contributors to AirAsia’s success – we are confident that these modern aircraft will enable us to continue our ambitious growth plans.”

“It’s particularly fitting that our 8,000th delivery goes to AirAsia - one of the world’s fastest growing airlines,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. “In an increasingly challenging and diverse worldwide economic context, we are more than ever focused on delivering real value to our customers. We will achieve this by continuing to innovate, together with our customers, in all fields of the business to stay ahead of the game and offer the most efficient products and services.”

AirAsia Group is the largest low-cost airline in Asia and operates an all-Airbus fleet. The airline is the largest customer for the A320 Family, having ordered a total of 475 aircraft, comprising 264 A320neo and 211 A320ceo. Meanwhile, Airbus widebody aircraft are the choice of the group’s long haul affiliate AirAsiaX, which has ordered a total of 26 A330-300s and ten A350 XWBs. A total of 141 Airbus aircraft are flying today in AirAsia’s colours out of its 16 bases in the region, which include Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.

The Airbus product line comprises the best-selling A320 Family in the single aisle market, the popular A330 and all-new A350 XWB in the mid-size widebody category and the flagship A380 in the very large aircraft segment. In the freight market Airbus currently offers the new-build A330-200F and the A330 Passenger-to-Freighter (A330P2F) programme. Over 13,000 Airbus aircraft have been ordered and 8,000 delivered to nearly 500 customers and operators worldwide. Every two seconds an Airbus aircraft takes off or lands.