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AirAsia is aiming to partner with China’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer to expand its fleet and increase its presence across Southeast Asia to meet rising travel demand in the post-pandemic era, according to Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian budget airline’s chief executive.
In an exclusive interview with This Week in Asia during a recent visit to Hong Kong, Fernandes said that the turbulence in the travel industry caused by the pandemic was coming to an end.
“We’re talking to everyone,” he said. “We would be foolish not to. I go out there publicly and say, ‘never underestimate the Chinese’. You only have to look at their mobile phones. You have to look at their internet technology.”
These negotiations offer AirAsia a chance to grow its fleet long-term amid an ongoing supply crunch, but currently, the airline is focused on consolidating the capacity it lost during the pandemic and getting planes back in the air.