AirAsia Leases Two A330 Aircraft For US$12.9 Million

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Bernama) -- AirAsia Bhd has entered into a wet lease agreement with Indonesia's PT Indonesia AirAsia Extra to lease two A330 aircraft with flight crew, maintenance and insurance for US$12.9 million (US$1=RM4.05). In a filing to Bursa Malaysia (Malaysia's Stock Exchange) on Wednesday, the Malaysian low-cost airline said the contract for the first aircraft is from Sept 16 to March 15 next year and valued at US$9.8 million. The second aircraft's US$3.1 million contract is from Oct 1-Nov 30 this year. "The agreement provides up to additional six crew sets daily to AirAsia's manpower supply. Additionally, extra capacity from the A330s allows AirAsia to rationalise its network by reducing flight frequencies, resulting in lesser crew requirement," it said. AirAsia said the extra capacity from the A330s also allows it to overcome slot constraints at some airports and enable the better manage the network. "For routes with low load factor, AirAsia can reduce frequency, thus reducing fixed costs required to operate the route. "Whereas, additional capacity could be added for routes with high load factor to capitalise on the high demand," it added. --BERNAMA