The European planemaker Airbus reportedly found new homes for its six A320 Family aircraft that had been rejected by the former customer. The unwanted jets would be delivered to the new owners in December 2020.
Airbus has already found the new owners for the whole order of six A320 Family jets that had been rejected by a former customer, reported Reuters. The European plane manufacturer put the aircraft on sale in April 2020, straight after the purchaser airline reviewed its order book.
Meanwhile, Airbus has been steadily increasing aircraft deliveries as it managed to reach agreements with its customers to reschedule deliveries or store jets. In October 2020, the manufacturer reduced a jet surplus that it was unable to deliver since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis by 10 jets to a total of 135 aircraft, Airbus delivery book showed. Finding the new homes for the rejected Malaysia‘s AirAsia order should also trim the excess of non-delivered aircraft.
Back in April 2020, a former compiler of the order, Malaysia’s AirAsia, reviewed its order book, rejecting to take new Airbus aircraft deliveries. The budget air carrier decided to give up on the deal due to the sharp fall in the air travel demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, the Executive Chairman of AirAsia Group, outlined that the company did not intend “to take any new aircraft deliveries this year [2020] with the target to end 2020 with 242 aircraft“.
According to Planespotters.com data, Malaysia’s AirAsia an all-Airbus operator, which currently has 2 A321s and 93 A320 aircraft in its fleet.