Capital A plans to more than double its fleet in Indonesia in the next three years to capture a growing tourism market after the Covid-19 pandemic, its chief executive Tony Fernandes said on Monday (Sep 4).
AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Capital A, currently has around 28 planes in its fleet. Fernandes told reporters on the sideline of an Asean business forum in Jakarta that he plans to grow the fleet to 75 by 2026, bringing in more wide-body aircraft.
Fernandes said that the company’s main goal after the pandemic has been to grow its fleet as travel returns to normal levels quickly.
“I’m very excited and we want to do as much direct connectivity, we want to open routes that we haven’t opened up before,” Fernandes said, citing Indonesia’s plans to develop destinations beyond the popular holiday island of Bali.
Last year, Malaysia’s AirAsia Group changed its name to Capital A to reflect its growing portfolio of businesses beyond the core budget airline.
Fernandes stepped down as AirAsia X CEO in October 2022, but has been the CEO of its parent company since 2018.