AirAsia keen on Philippine maintenance hub

AirAsia —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The AirAsia Group is keen on establishing an aircraft maintenance hub in the Philippines to support growing flight activities as more passengers travel for business and pleasure.

Tony Fernandes, group CEO, said in a hybrid event on Monday that discussions for the potential investment were ongoing.

He said Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), the group’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) subsidiary, has been looking at establishing a new hangar where it can service more jets.

Fernandes raised the need for an additional MRO facility to deploy more aircraft given the momentum in air travel. With more jets available for operation, AirAsia will be able to expand its routes as well.

Partnership

ADE inked a partnership last year with Indonesian MRO company PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero Asia Tbk (GMF) to improve aircraft availability.

GMF provides landing gear overhaul and maintenance services, including disassembly, inspection, repair and reassembly of landing gear components.

The AirAsia Group is beefing up its fleet with the delivery of 14 jets this year. Four would come directly from jet manufacturer Airbus while the remaining 10 would be from lessors.

Earlier, AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said they were expecting to cater to 7.5 million passengers this year—an uptick from 2024’s projected 7.2 million.

In January to September last year, the local unit flew 5.26 million passengers, nearly 7 percent more than the 4.93 million passengers it serviced in the same period in 2023.