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AirAsia gains IOSA certification, AirAsia X considering A321LR
September 14th 2018
Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad has received its first IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification, joining sister carriers AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia. Read More » The IOSA programme is an evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
“This accreditation by a globally recognized safety benchmark demonstrates our commitment to safe and secure operations,” said AirAsia Malaysia CEO, Riad Asmat. The AirAsia Group hopes its affiliates in India, Thailand and the Philippines will achieve IOSA certification early next year.
There are 68 Asia-Pacific carriers on the IOSA registry. AirAsia Berhad is the fourth Malaysian airline on the list, following AirAsia X, Malaysia Airlines Berhad and Malindo Air.
Separately, in its quarterly results presentation, long-haul AirAsia X said it was evaluating introduction of the A321neo and/or A321LR aircraft into its fleet. AirAsia X said it could potentially operate its shorter flights of up to eight hours with the A321neo/LR and deploy its A330-300 and incoming A330neo fleets on longer missions.
AirAsia X said it planned “to grow markets with a smaller aircraft and defend markets with a bigger aircraft”.
The long-haul unit operates 31 A330-300s and has ordered 100 A330-900neo aircraft. Regional AirAsia has outstanding orders for 100 A321neo and 275 A320neo, which could potentially be converted to A321LRs for AirAsia X.
