Why the AirAsia mega order at Paris Air Show never happened

June 23, 2025

Ahead of the Paris Air Show, which took place last week from 16 – 22 June, rumours had been swirling about a mega order from budget carrier AirAsia.
Multiple outlets had reported the carrier’s intent to order a new regional jet, potentially the Airbus A220, and perhaps more larger narrowbodies too.
But the airshow came and went without an AirAsia order. New reporting suggests the deal is still on the table, but that it won’t happen for at least a couple of months.
AirAsia sidelines order in favour of restructuring focus
AirAsia has not placed an order since the pandemic. Previously, it has often used airshows as platforms to announce significant orders from its preferred OEM, Airbus.

While there is no doubt order negotiations are happening, the timing of the Paris Air Show wasn’t right for the company to make an announcement.
Speaking with Reuters on the sidelines of the airshow, CEO Tony Fernandez told reporters,
“We want to make sure we clear out of our restructuring. The great thing is, we’re back in the growth stage.”
Hit hard by pandemic travel restrictions, AirAsia had been classified as ‘financially distressed’ since 2022, placing it under PN17 status, a classification given by Bursa Malaysia to listed companies facing financial difficulties.
Capital A, which owns AirAsia, is in the process of exiting PN17 through a restructuring, which also includes the sale of its aviation business to AirAsia X.

In May, Capital A announced that its shareholders had unanimously approved a key resolution in the restructuring plan, moving it closer to exiting this status.
“I am hoping we can wrap up this process in June and complete everything by the end of July,” Fernandes told Reuters.
What will AirAsia order, and when?
According to reports, AirAsia will look to buy as many as 100 smaller aircraft, with both the Airbus A220 and Embraer E2 on the table.

Fernandes firmly believes that what AirAsia’s network needs is lots of frequency and more destinations. He believes regional jets are the key to this, and is wiling to stray from the budget carrier’s one-type fleet in order to facilitate it.
The CEO further said to reporters that the airline was in talks for 50 to 70 A321XLR aircraft for its fleet.
We’re still doing a lot of work with Airbus and other OEMs,” Fernandes said. ” I think we’ll look to do something imminently, in the next 1-3 months.”