AirAsia X is seeking investment of $10.8 million which will primarily be used for the “reactivation and maintenance” of the company’s fleet.
The carrier has a number of inactive Airbus A330s it plans to return to service and investment from institutional investors will allow this to happen.
According to the airline the funding would “serve as an interim fundraising measure to bolster its short-term working capital requirements as the company continues to recover and grow its operations in this post-pandemic era.”
Details were announced by AirAsia X on May 23, 2023, which is currently flying 16 medium-haul destinations.
The Malaysian-based airline has looked to regularize and improve its financial condition since early 2022 and has turned around its financial performance from loss-making to registering two consecutive quarters of profit for the financial periods that ended September 30, 2022, and December 31, 2022.
The proposed placement of shares would be the company’s first equity fundraising exercise since 2015 as AirAsia X continues to evaluate its operational and financial performance as well as the viability of its PN17 regularization plan.
“Since the reopening of the regional borders last year, AirAsia X continues to grow, and we have been ramping up our operations to cater to the demand for international air travel across the regions. As of May 2023, AirAsia X has 17 aircraft within its fleet, with 11 activated and operational and we aim to activate more aircraft by the end of the year,” Benyamin Ismail, CEO of AirAsia X said.
Ismail added: ““We are pleased to have embarked on this new era post-COVID-19, in which we witness the return of confidence in the aviation industry, which has shown clear evidence of a rebound following three long years of stall.”